Robert Lewandowski names his top goals for Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich’s YouTube channel just posted a video of Robert Lewandowski naming his top goals for the club. As we all know, Lewy has scored a LOT of goals for FCB, and it is very interesting to see which ones he himself picked out of a huge pot. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

1-0 vs MSV Duisburg, Pre-season friendly, 21 Jul. 2014 (FT 1-1)

Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty Images

Lewy’s first choice is perhaps an unorthodox one — a pre-season goal scored against Duisburg. It was a simple pass from Rafinha, followed by a simple finish from the Pole. Not much else to say about it, but the reason this particular goal makes this list is because it was Lewy’s first ever goal in Bayern colors. The first of many, many more!

2-2 vs FC Barcelona, UEFA Champions League semifinals, 12 May. 2015 (FT 3-2)

Photo by Thomas Eisenhuth/picture alliance via Getty Images

Bayern were trailing 5-1 on aggregate to eventual champions Barcelona in the Champions League, but they were not willing to go down without a fight. Enter Robert Lewandowski. Standing in front of Javier Mascherano, Lewy….okay, I’ll do my best to describe it. He rolled the ball towards him with his right foot, then stopped it with his left, drawing Mascherano to his left side. Seeing the pocket of space open to his right, Lewy then tapped the ball back to his right side with his right foot and then curled an inch-perfect shot past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen without hesitation. And he did all that in the matter of three(!) seconds, with a mask on due to a facial injury as well.

Bayern went on to win 3-2 courtesy of a Thomas Muller goal, getting knocked out of the Champions League, but still maintaining their pride in front of their home support.

1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1(...) vs VfL Wolfsburg, Bundesliga Matchday 6, 22 Sep. 2015 (FT 5-1)

Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images

Every Bayern fan knows the full story of this particular game, so I’ll just give y’all the short version:

• 46’: Lewy comes on as a substitute. 0-1.
• 51’: Lewy scores from a tap-in. 1-1.
• 52’: Lewy scores a 25-yard screamer into the bottom corner straight from kickoff. 2-1.
• 55’: Lewy hits the post, gets saved by the keeper, but forces the ball home for his hat trick. 3-1.
• 57’: Lewy volleys home a cross from Douglas Costa. 4-1.
• 60’: Lewy scissors a Mario Gotze cross right into the corner. Genius. 5-1.

Five goals in nine minutes. A match that set a ton of world records, which are hanging on Lewy’s wall. He also still has the boots from that game. Can you blame him for keeping them, though?

Funnily enough, the first thing Lewy thought of after getting home from work that night was that he missed a chance to get a double hat trick. That man’s hunger for goals is something else.

1-0 vs Atletico de Madrid, UEFA Champions League Group Stage, 6 Dec. 2016 (FT 1-0)

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

One thing about Lewandowski is that he’s not a half-bad free kick taker, as he showed against Atletico in this game. In the 28th minute, he stepped up to a free kick just outside the box, and after taking a big dipping step, he curled the ball over the wall (rhyme not intended) and right into the top corner. Even Jan Oblak could not do anything about it.

But what was really special about this goal was that it marked the announcement of Lewy’s first child. He and his wife Anna had agreed that the next time he scored, he would do the classic ‘baby bump’ celebration by putting the ball under his shirt. A few months later, Klara Lewandowska was born. Good for both Robert and Anna!

2-1 vs SC Freiburg, Bundesliga Matchday 17, 20 Jan. 2017 (FT 2-1)

Photo by Uli Deck/picture alliance via Getty Images

A typical goal in a typical victory in a typical Bundesliga game. What’s so special about that? Well, Lewy may have scored many goals, but few were as skillful as this one. He got on the end of a Franck Ribery cross, and could have gone for goal directly, but rightfully decided that he was in too awkward a position for that. He therefore fended off his pressing opponent, chested the ball down, flicked it up with his right foot, and somehow rolled it in with the outside of his left boot off the far post. Magic.

It also helped that that particular goal was scored in the first minute of stoppage time to give Bayern a hard-fought 2-1 win. It’s never easy to get three points on the road (not that it is at home), but Lewy’s brilliance ensured that his team would stay firmly on course for the Bundesliga title, which they ended up winning at the end of April.

1-0 vs Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, 18 Apr. 2017 (FT 2-4)

Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

Another rather surprising choice. A penalty in a game that we lost? But this was a game of passion, of pride, and of sheer will. Lewy was nursing an injury, as were many of his teammates. But his determination allowed him to start and score a penalty against one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Keylor Navas.

At this moment in the video, Lewy offers his particular view on taking penalties: “In those 30 seconds you have to blend everything out, focus on the ball, your body, and what you want to do with the ball.” Perhaps it sounds rather obvious, but so many people forget obvious things because they take them for granted. It’s no wonder that Lewy is one of the best penalty takers in the world.

Sadly, injuries, fatigue, and a horrendous referee sent Bayern bowing out of the Champions League yet again. Don’t worry Bob, you’ll win it in the next three years, I promise.

2-0 vs Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga Matchday 11, 4 Nov. 2017 & Bundesliga Matchday 28, 6 April 2019 (FT 3-1 & 5-0)

Photo credit should read TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images

Two moments of brilliance against Borussia Dortmund. Just because it’s his old club doesn’t mean Lewy gets sentimental. If anything, it makes him even more motivated to score.

The first goal of the pair was a delicious backheel. Receiving a low cross from Joshua Kimmich, Lewy immediately connected his heel to the ball, which ricocheted off Julian Weigl’s foot and looped right over Roman Burki’s head. Yes, it was aided with a bit of luck, but it looked real pretty, and that’s all that matters. Bayern went on to win 3-1 and enjoy their resurgence under then-coach Jupp Heynckes.

The second of the pair came two years later, in a do-or-die clash against die Schwarzgelben in Munich. After getting the ball from Jadon Sancho, Dan-Axel Zagadou hesitated too much and made a mistake. Lewy, smelling blood, immediately cut out the loose ball and started barreling towards the onrushing Burki. Unfazed, Lewy chipped the ball over Burki and scissored the ball into the empty net off the post. Another work of art. It was Lewy’s first of the two goals he scored that day, and also happened to be his 200th goal in the Bundesliga. Talk about setting a record in style, eh?

Despite his ingenious goals, Lewy says in the video that he “doesn’t like to show off too much,” because he’s “a player who wants to focus on the team and my(his) performance first.” You sure about that, Bob?

1-0, 3-0 vs RB Leipzig, DFB-Pokal Final, 25 May. 2019 (FT 3-0)

Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Lewandowski was the star of the show in Bayern’s last game of the 2018-19 season, scoring two goals against DFB-Pokal final debutants Leipzig. The first goal was another example of his acrobatic skills, somehow getting his head around a David Alaba cross that seemed a bit too far behind and directing it into the bottom corner. “I tried, and as long as you try, you always have a chance,” he said.

The second goal was the goal that killed the game. Leipzig failed to deal with a long ball from Kimmich, and Lewy rushed into the opponents’ half, beat Dayot Upamecano to the ball, and chipped the ball over Peter Gulasci before ripping his shirt off and running over to the traveling Bayern fans. Regarding his celebration, Lewy said “it was a spontaneous reaction, but I was hugely happy to just show that we are Bayern Munich.”

It was an emotional night for everyone. Winning the Pokal after the painful final defeat in the previous season, capping a very tumultuous season overall, and oh, did I mention that I was in the Olympiastadion for that final? Yes, I was one of the fans Lewy ran over to that night. I remember not screaming in joy after that third goal, but just silently raising my arms in triumph and savoring the moment. Ah, what a night it was.

2-0 vs Schalke 04, Bundesliga Matchday 2, 24 Aug. 2019 (FT 3-0)

Photo by Federico Gambarini/picture alliance via Getty Images

The second free kick to make this list, this goal was probably Lewy’s best of the league season. The ball was in a slightly more central position than the one against Atletico, and perhaps a bit further away, but that didn’t stop Lewy from delivering another vicious and delicious curler into the top left corner.

Lewy also offers his advice on free kicks in the video. “The rhythm, the run-up are most important in free kicks, because from any position, if you know your run-up, you know where the ball can end up,” he says. “The trajectory is also important, because sometimes the wall jumps very high, sometimes it’s minimal. And the distance, all of this together plays a role, along with the technique.”

That free kick was Lewy’s fourth league goal of the season, but it certainly wasn’t his last. Fast forward ten months and Lewy was holding the Torjagerkannone again, with a personal season best of 34 goals!

2-1 vs Tottenham Hotspur, UEFA Champions League Group Stage, 1 Oct. 2019 (FT 7-2)

Photo by Visionhaus

Bayern’s 7-2 win over Champions League finalists Tottenham Hotspur will go down in history, not least because of Serge Gnabry’s four goal haul. But the best of the bunch belonged to one Robert Lewandowski. Bayern had conceded first to Heungmin Son (Korea ohh Korea) but had equalized a couple of minutes later through Joshua Kimmich.

With the score tied at 1-1, the ball was loose in Tottenham’s penalty area. It was anyone’s shot to take. Lewandowski took responsibility and got the ball before spinning on the spot and arrowing a precise shot past Hugo Lloris into the bottom corner. Oh, and he showed off a bit of his skill with a delightful flick (ahem?) over Jan Vertonghen’s head. Magic!

That goal gave Bayern the lead that they needed, and they went on to score five more in the second half, with Lewy adding to his tally as well. It was Lewy’s third Champions League goal of the season. Keep this in mind, we’re going to be seeing a lot of those.

2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0 vs Crvena Zvezda, UEFA Champions League Group Stage, 26 Nov. 2019 (FT 6-0)

Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

Another game that’s burned into Bayern fans’ brains, so again, here’s the short version:

• 53’: Lewy scores a penalty. 2-0.
• 60’: Lewy redirects a Benjamin Pavard cross with his head into the net. 3-0.
• 64’: Lewy pokes home a Corentin Tolisso header. 4-0.
• 68’: Lewy plays a slick one-two with Ivan Perisic before sliding the ball in. 5-0.

Four goals in fourteen, fifteen minutes. Not as impressive as his aforementioned five-in-nine haul against Wolfsburg, but hey, it’s not every day you score four goals, much less in such a short space of time. The fact that such a feat can be described as ‘not as impressive as…’ just goes to show how good a striker Lewy really is.

Bayern won their group with this victory, and Lewy was rested for the final group game against Tottenham. He would be back, though, to score even more Champions League goals…

1-0 vs SV Werder Bremen, Bundesliga Matchday 32, 16 Jun. 2020 (FT 1-0)

Photo by MARTIN MEISSNER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Back to the Bundesliga for a bit. This one was special because it was the goal that won Bayern their 8th successive league title. After a hard-fought series of wins over the likes of Dortmund, Leverkusen, and Monchengladbach, Bayern were just one win away from the title, against Bremen in a rainy Weserstadion.

Just before halftime, Jerome Boateng sent in a trademark lob into the box to find Lewy unmarked. Because of the rain, however, it was anything but an easy shot. “I was very focused on taking down the ball and I didn’t see the whole of the goal,” Lewy said. “I didn’t have time to see if either the left or right corner was free. I knew that the goalkeeper was standing more towards the right and so the near corner would probably be covered, but the far corner wasn’t completely free either. And then I had a bit of luck with the shot, there was some ground contact, and it was very difficult for the keeper because the pitch was wet and the ball picked up pace towards the end.”

Well, whatever his process was, it worked like a charm. Bayern won the game 1-0 courtesy of Lewy’s goal, and the rest is history.

6-2 vs FC Barcelona, UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, 14 Aug. 2020 (FT 8-2) & 3-0 vs Olympique Lyon, UEFA Champions League semifinals, 19 Aug. 2020 (FT 3-0)

Photo by Manu Fernandez/Pool via Getty Images

Okay, we’re back in Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the Champions League would be played at a neutral venue through a single knockout tournament. Having smashed Chelsea 4-1, Bayern traveled to Lisbon to face FC Barcelona, and, well, they made history, to say the least. A 3-0 win over Lyon in the semifinals later, Bayern were in the final. Of course, Lewy scored in both these wins.

The reason that these goals are looped together is because they were remarkably similar: both were close range headers. Against Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho found an unmarked Lewandowski right in front of goal to head home his 15th of the tournament. Four days later, it was a Joshua Kimmich free kick that Lewy headed into the corner to seal his side’s win over the Frenchmen.

Now admittedly, both these goals have relatively less impact compared to others on this list, as Bayern was already 5-2 and 2-0 up in the final minutes, respectively. But Lewy was still instrumental in both those wins, as he also assisted early goals in them. It was Lewy who assisted Thomas Muller’s opener against Barcelona, and it was also he who assisted Serge Gnabry’s second goal against Lyon, although the latter was admittedly a hashed finish that Gnabry converted to save Lewy’s embarrassment. Still counts, though.

Lewy failed to score or assist in the final against Paris Saint-Germain, but he probably didn’t care as his team won 1-0 to clinch their sixth European Cup. It was Lewy’s first ever Champions League title, and it was emotional enough to move him to tears right after the final whistle.

Epilogue

Lewandowski is still scoring goals at will for FC Bayern. Some of them are beautiful volleys, and some are simple tap-ins. But as he puts it: “the most beautiful goals don’t have to be the most important ones.” For Lewy, all that matters is helping the team as much as he can by putting the ball in the back of the net. And as long as he’s doing that, he is happy.

It is clear that Lewy loves playing and scoring for Bayern, and we as fans enjoy watching him tremendously. “The goals from the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will endure forever, for me personally and also for the whole of FC Bayern Munich,” he said to round off the video.

Here’s to many more games and goals from our Polish goal machine!

Photo by M. Donato/FC Bayern via Getty Images

What has been your favorite Lewandowski goal so far?