Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane is once again gunning for Robert Lewandowski’s single-season Bundesliga scoring record, and the Pole has teased his potential usurper over the number of games it took him to reach such a remarkable milestone.
Kane and Lewandowski are regarded as two of the finest strikers of their generation, with the former emerging as a replacement for the latter in 2023, a year removed from Lewandowski’s move to Barcelona.
The 37-year-old spent eight years in Munich, scoring 238 goals in 253 Bundesliga games as he helped the club claim the league title in each of the seasons he spent at the Allianz Arena. Kane has since taken the mantle, helping Bayern reassert themselves at the summit of German football after a season of Bayer Leverkusen dominance.
Kane, Tottenham Hotspur and England’s all-time leading goalscorer, has scored at a similarly freakish rate in Germany, finding the back of the net 92 times in 87 league outings for Bayern, and he’s got a chance of topping Lewandowski’s seemingly unbreakable single-season scoring record from 2020–21, having fallen five goals short in his debut campaign.
Lewandowski Hints at Asterisk on Potential Kane Record
Kane’s haul of 36 goals in 2023–24 ranks fourth among the most prolific Bundesliga seasons in history, with Lewandowski breaking Gerd Müller’s almost 50-year-old record in 2020–21.
The Polish striker, robbed of the Ballon d’Or after the Covid-hit 2019–20 campaign, embarked on an utterly staggering scoring season, as he found the back of the net 41 times in just 29 Bundesliga games, a rate of 1.41 goals per game.
This season, Kane has scored 30 times in 24 games. He needs 12 in Bayern’s final 10 outings to bypass the record set by his esteemed predecessor.
“Harry Kane is scoring always so many goals, and he’s playing really good and he’s doing a great job,” Lewandowski commented in a recent interview with Sky Sports Germany. “And then I saw I did this in 29 games … if I played 34 games, I can only imagine I could even score more!”
A knee ligament injury sustained in April meant the prolific Polish forward missed four league games, and he was also rested away at FC Köln in the autumn, whom he’d later score twice against in Munich. There’s no doubt that Lewandowski, given the form he showed—not only that season, but throughout his Bayern career—would’ve added to his record haul, had he avoided the fitness setback.
As a result, the door is open to Kane this season. The Englishman has started all but one of Bayern’s Bundesliga games, appearing for 30 minutes off the bench in the other. He’s drawn a blank just six times and has scored four consecutive braces to give him a chance of usurping Lewandowski.
“Because of him [Kane], I can be more proud of my record now!” Lewandowski added. He’ll be keeping a watchful eye on his former club for the remainder of the season, no doubt.
Could Kane Break Lewandowski’s Single-Season Scoring Record?
As we’ve already noted, Kane needs 10 goals in 12 games to break the record. At his current rate of 1.25 goals per game, he’d end the season with 42.5, which, while an impossible figure to hit, nonetheless suggests he’s currently on track.
However, Kane’s bid has been dealt a blow. Vincent Kompany has said his striker will miss Friday night’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach due to a calf injury, so he only has nine games to score 12 (an average of 1.33 goals per game).
Bayern’s manager ruled out a “serious” issue, so Kane should be back for the resumption of their Champions League campaign away at Atalanta next week.
Kane hasn’t discriminated who he scores against since arriving in Germany, but it’s worth noting that Bayern have still got to play three of the bottom four before the season’s up. Wolfsburg and Heidenheim, currently going down, boast the joint-worst defensive records in the division.
Thus, there will be ample opportunities for the 32-year-old to cash-in.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Robert Lewandowski Taunts Harry Kane Over Bundesliga Scoring Record.
