Robert Lewandowski (Part 2)

Robert Lewandowski , continued to demonstrate his scoring prowess for Borussia Dortmund. He began the season by scoring in the 2012 DFL-Supercup defeat to Bayern Munich on 12 August 2012. In the Bundesliga opener against Werder Bremen, he made an appearance as Dortmund secured a 2–1 victory.
Lewandowski scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on 15 September 2012, extending Dortmund's unbeaten streak to 31 games and lifting the club to third place in the Bundesliga. Just three days later, he scored a crucial 87th-minute winner against Ajax in Dortmund's first Champions League game of the season.


During the campaign, Lewandowski set a new club record by scoring in 12 consecutive league games, surpassing Friedhelm Konietzka's previous record. However, he faced a setback on 9 February 2013 when he was sent off in a match against Hamburg after opening the scoring, resulting in a 4–1 defeat for Dortmund.
Amid speculation about his future, Borussia Dortmund director Michael Zorc confirmed in February 2013 that Lewandowski would not renew his contract with the club and would depart either in the summer of 2013 or after the 2013–14 season. Despite this uncertainty, Lewandowski finished the season with 24 league goals, narrowly missing out on the Bundesliga's top scorer title to Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kießling.


In the DFB-Pokal quarter-final on 27 February 2013, Lewandowski featured in Dortmund's 1–0 defeat to Bayern Munich. However, he made history on 24 April by becoming the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final as Dortmund defeated Real Madrid 4–1 in the first leg. Despite his remarkable performance, Dortmund ultimately fell short in the UEFA Champions League final on 25 May, losing 1–2 to Bayern Munich.


During the pre-season of the 2014-2015 campaign, Robert Lewandowski made a notable start for Bayern Munich. Pre-season began on 9 July 2014, and Lewandowski was presented at that time. He made his pre-season debut against MSV Duisburg on 21 July, where he also scored a goal.
Another notable performance came on 6 August when he opened the scoring in Bayern's match against the MLS All-Star team, although Bayern eventually lost 1-2.
In competitive fixtures, Lewandowski made his debut for Bayern in the 2014 DFL-Supercup on 13 August, where they lost 0-2 to Borussia Dortmund. He scored his first league goal for Bayern in a 1-1 draw against Schalke 04 on 30 August. In the Champions League, he scored his first goal for Bayern in a 7-1 away win against Roma on 21 October.


In a crucial league match against his former club Borussia Dortmund on 1 November, Lewandowski scored to secure a 2-1 victory for Bayern, leaving Dortmund in a relegation play-off place. Another significant match was on 4 April 2015, where he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Dortmund, with his goal coming after Dortmund's goalkeeper parried a shot from Thomas Müller.
On 21 February 2015, Lewandowski scored twice in Bayern's 6-0 win away at Paderborn, reaching his 10th league goal of the season. He continued his scoring form with two goals in the first half on 21 April, helping Bayern overturn a deficit from the first leg to defeat Porto 7-4 on aggregate and advance to the Champions League semi-finals.


Despite suffering an injury in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against Dortmund on 28 April, where he fractured his jaw and nose bone and had a concussion, Lewandowski returned to action wearing a protective mask. He scored a goal in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona on 12 May, although Bayern were eliminated from the competition.
Overall, Lewandowski had a successful season, finishing as one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga with 17 goals in 31 games and scoring a total of 25 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich.
Robert Lewandowski's second season with Bayern Munich was marked by several remarkable achievements and records.It began with the 2015 DFL-Supercup match against VfL Wolfsburg, which Bayern lost in a penalty shootout. Despite the loss, Lewandowski's season started on a high note when he scored the last goal in a 3–1 win against Nöttingen in the DFB-Pokal first round. He continued his scoring form by netting the second goal in a 5–0 victory over Hamburg in the opening match of the Bundesliga season.


However, Lewandowski's most memorable moment of the season came on September 22, 2015, when he set a Bundesliga record by scoring five goals in just 8 minutes and 59 seconds after coming on as a substitute against Wolfsburg. This remarkable feat earned him four certificates from Guinness World Records and cemented his status as one of the world's best strikers. He also set records for the fastest hat-trick and most goals scored by a substitute in Bundesliga history.Throughout the season, Lewandowski continued to showcase his scoring prowess, reaching milestones such as his 100th Bundesliga goal and becoming the first foreign player to score 30 goals in a Bundesliga season. He also contributed to Bayern's success in the Champions League, scoring crucial goals in various matches.


Lewandowski's incredible performances earned him recognition, including a fourth-place finish at the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or awards. He finished the season with an impressive tally of 42 goals in 51 matches.The following season, Lewandowski continued his goal-scoring exploits, reaching 100 goals for Bayern in his 137th appearance for the club. He ended the season with 42 goals in 47 matches, reaffirming his status as one of the most prolific strikers in the world.Overall, Lewandowski's second season with Bayern Munich was characterized by his exceptional goal-scoring ability, numerous records, and contributions to the team's success in both domestic and European competitions.


The 2017-18 season kicked off with Bayern Munich securing the DFL-Supercup against Borussia Dortmund. In this match, Lewandowski demonstrated his goal-scoring prowess once again by netting the opening goal for Bayern, helping them to equalize after Christian Pulisic's opener.
The match ended 2-2 after extra time, with Bayern eventually clinching victory in the penalty shootout, with Lewandowski converting the first penalty as they won 5-4.
Continuing his prolific form from the previous season, Lewandowski emerged as the top scorer in the early stages of the 2017-18 Bundesliga. His consistency in front of goal was evident when he scored the only goal of the game against Köln on December 13, a goal that also propelled him into the top ten goalscorers of all time in the Bundesliga.

References

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