Bayern will play Salzburg in the Champions League. Will Lewandowski attack Ronaldo’s record?

Although Salzburg are certainly not to be underestimated, this semi-final is definitely one of the brightest. Bayern Munich are going strong and the Austrian champions are unlikely to stop them. It will be interesting to see how Robert Lewandowski fares.

Bayern are a very traditional Champions League side, having won it six times already. It almost regularly reaches the last stage of the tournament, but last year it was knocked out in the quarter-finals.

This year, they will be looking to return to the top four again, but the play-offs are off to a relatively slow start. They will face Salzburg. The latter plays in an attractive style, and is safely in the lead in Austria, but the Munich giant is one level above them.

As far as the question of who is the favourite and who will advance is concerned, there is almost nothing to decide. So let’s focus on another matter. Robert Lewandowski is after a unique record.

The king of the Champions League is undoubtedly Cristiano Ronaldo. He has scored the most goals, won it the most times and holds countless records. But now he may lose one of them, because a Polish sniper is after him.

And that’s the number of goals scored in a single Champions League season. The Portuguese holds the record with 17 goals in 2013/14 Cristiano Ronaldo with 16 goals from the 2015/16 season. Third place? The Portuguese phenom again, this time alongside Lewandowski with 15 shots.

But Lewandowski has already scored 9 goals in 6 games in the regular season. That leaves him 8 goals away from the record, which is definitely within his capabilities. Of course, it depends on how far Bayern goes, but if they reach at least the semi-finals and Lewandowski doesn’t get the shooting dust, we can rewrite history.

Ronaldo also racked up 9 goals in the group stage back then in the 2013/14 season. He subsequently scored four times in the eight-final with Schalke, added one goal against Dortmund in the quarter-final, and was spared in the rematch. In the semi-final against Bayern he scored two goals and also scored in the final against Atlético Madrid. 11 games, 17 goals, 5 assists. An incredible feat that Lewandowski is now aiming for.

If the Bayern striker shoots in the knockout stages as well, Ronaldo’s record will be shaken to its foundations. And it’s certain that somewhere in his head, the Polish marksman will have it.

Source: UEFA