Robert Lewandowski from FC Bayern Munich made his next gala appearance in the 5-2 win against Benfica Lisbon. After the three-pack it was all about records, a gift and the question of the future.
Szymon Marciniak is a highly decorated referee. The 40-year-old Pole has already whistled at World and European Championships, and was featured in the Champions League for the 30th time in the game between FC Bayern and Benfica Lisbon. As an eternal memory of this small anniversary, his compatriot Robert Lewandowski presented him with the match ball after the final whistle.
Lewandowski obtained the right to freely dispose of this game ball with a three-pack when his team won 5-2. As often as he has succeeded in doing this in the course of his career, he may not have any storage space at home for other normal match balls.
On the other hand, there would certainly be room for a golden ball. The French magazine France Football It is well known that annually honors the best player in the world with the Ballon d’Or. After the trophy was not awarded last year due to the corona pandemic, Lewandowski is one of the top favorites at the award ceremony on November 29th. His performance against Benfica was another convincing cover letter.
Robert Lewandowski’s impressive numbers
Lewandowski scored 79, 80 and 81 in his 100th Champions League game. Not even the best strikers of the past few years and Ballon d’Or series winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi managed to do that during this period. They are now the only players ahead of Lewandowski in the all-time ranking at 139 and 123 respectively.
While Ronaldo and Messi have visibly lost weight recently, Lewandowski has been in top form for months. With his 41 Bundesliga goals, he beat Gerd Müller’s goal record last season. With his three-pack against Benfica, he overtook the club legend in terms of European goals for Bayern.
This season Lewandowski has already scored 22 goals in 19 competitive games. Most recently, he scored in eight Champions League games in a row. He leads the current goalscorer list of the competition with eight goals. If he hadn’t missed his penalty against Benfica, it would have been nine.
Nagelsmann does not want to reduce Lewandowski to goals
According to coach Julian Nagelsmann, Lewandowski is not doing justice to “only” reducing him to his many goals. Instead, he explicitly raved about his “joy in playing in the last 30 minutes. He wanted every ball and initiated many situations.” Exemplary is Lewandowski’s second goal in the 61st minute, a worth seeing lob with exhausting foreplay. “There are strikers who, given the score and superiority, no longer lag behind in such a full sprint,” praised Nagelsmann.
It was not unusual that Lewandowski was still on the pitch at this point in the game, despite the tight schedule. Just behind Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer, he completed the third most competitive minutes for FC Bayern this season. “I feel very good, I don’t have to be replaced,” he said succinctly.
Robert Lewandowski’s future at Bayern
Lewandowski is already 33 years old, how much longer can he do that? “Because of his body and his way of life, I trust Lewy to be incredibly successful into a significantly older age,” suggested Nagelsmann. “I think he’ll be the best striker in the world a little longer.”
In a sense, this was also to be understood as an invitation to FC Bayern to keep this best striker in the world a little longer than until the current contract expires in 2023. Actually, players over 31 years of age only get contracts for one season, but at Lewandowski an exception is conceivable, just as recently with Manuel Neuer and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Despite Lewandowski’s flood of goals and the interest in a contract extension, rumors about a possible commitment of the twelve-year-old Erling Haaland by Munich have been wafting over and over again in recent weeks. Sure, with the best player of the rival Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern traditionally like to adorn itself.
“The Lewy doesn’t really care who stirs up or serves rumors somewhere. I don’t think that spurs him on,” explained Nagelsmann. When asked, Lewandowski said the right sentence: “I am Lewandowski. I think of myself.” And otherwise if then to referee compatriots.
