Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has claimed his first European Golden Shoe after outscoring the entire field in 2020/21.
Lewandowski on top of the world
Lewandowski capped his 11th season in the Bundesliga with a record 41 goals, going one better than the late Gerd Müller some 49 years earlier. The Bayern striker registered five braces, four hat-tricks and one four-goal blitz. He only failed to score in four of the 29 matches he featured in, and never went more than one without finding the net.
Had Lewandowski been fit for the duration of Bayern’s ninth successive title romp, the Pole would have ended the 2020/21 campaign closer to 50 goals. Not that the record champions’ irrepressible No.9 needed the additional cushion at the top of the scoring charts.
Scoring 40 goals in Bundesliga season
As well as being the first player in history to score more than 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season, Lewandowski became the first to be named Bundesliga top scorer for four years running.
His nearest challenger in the Torjägerkanone race was Andre Silva. The Portugal international registered 28 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt, one more than Borussia Dortmunds Erling Haaland. In 42 of the previous 57 Bundesliga campaigns, Silva would have claimed the prize for himself. The gulf between Lewandowski and the chasing pack extended across Europe. Lionel Messi scored 30 times for Barcelona; Cristiano Ronaldo put away 29 goals in his final season as a Juventus player; while previous European Golden Shoe winner Ciro Immobile hit 20. Lewandowski didn’t so much as inherit the crown as take it by a goalscoring tour de force.