Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski equaled Gerd Muller’s 49-year-old German league goal record on Saturday, scoring a penalty in the 26th minute of their 2-2 draw against Freiburg to bring his season tally to 40 goals.
With 276 goals, the Polish striker is already second all-time in the Bundesliga, trailing Mueller’s 365. With one game remaining in the season, he has one more chance to match Muller’s 1971/72 record.
The Bavarians, who have already won the league for the seventh time in a row, got their first real chance in the 20th minute when Lewandowski’s effort from the edge of the box sailed wide. Six minutes later, he did it even better, sending goalie Mark Flekken the wrong way to tie the record.
After Robert Lewandowski scored goal no. FORTY of the Bundesliga season, equalling the all-time record, he got a guard of honor from his teammates and coaching staff mid-match 👏 pic.twitter.com/6Ho2S4P3la
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 15, 2021
Three minutes later, Freiburg equalized with Manuel Gulde’s header, but the Bavarians regained the lead in the 53rd minute when Leroy Sane slipped in to connect with a Thomas Mueller cutback. After Christian Guenter had drawn the hosts equal, Lewandowski had an opportunity in front of goal in the 78th minute and an 83rd-minute header stopped by the goalie.
However, the outcome is unimportant on the day since Lewandowski was showered with acclaim, with the German Football League (DFL) praising it as a “historic” accomplishment.
“Almost half a century after the unique Gerd Mueller set the record, Robert Lewandowski equaled it today,” the DFL stated. “Congratulations on this outstanding and historic performance.”
I achieved a goal that once seemed impossible to imagine #Lewy40 ⚽ I'm so unbelievably proud to make history for @FCBayern, and to play a part in creating the stories that fans will tell their children – following in the footsteps of legends like Gerd Müller #RL9 #4EverGerd 🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/G7EYWz88dn
— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) May 15, 2021
