Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski facing threat of Haaland for golden boot

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski faces a tough battle with Erling Braut Haaland for Golden Boot.

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski has won the Bundesliga Golden Boot for three consecutive seasons. This past season the Polish striker had his most successful season scoring 34 goals to dominant the Golden Boot race in the German top flight.

RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner came close but was unable to reduce the gap to  Robert Lewandowski as he fell short by six goals. With Werner leaving Leipzig for Chelsea, Lewandowski will still be pressured in the race for the Golden Boot this season. This time the closest rival to Lewandowski will be Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland.

An instant impact

Haaland has had an instant impact at Dortmund. Since arriving in January, the Norwegian striker has scored 13 goals in 15 Bundesliga appearances. At 20, he is one of the best up and coming goal scorers in the world and is already a lethal striker.

Dortmund’s young talent averaged 1.10 goals per 90 minutes, which was just behind Lewandowski’s 1.11 goals per 90 minutes in the 2019/20 Bundesliga season. Although Haaland did play in 16 fewer matches than Lewandowski, there’s a strong possibility Haaland would have been right up there with Werner and Lewandowski had he played the entire season at Dortmund.

There’s no question Haaland enters the coming season as one of the best strikers in the Bundesliga. He should be able to cement himself as the main contender to dethrone Lewandowski for the Golden Boot as the year progresses.

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Can Haaland match Lewandowski’s consistency?

Bayern’s success last season was heavily influenced by the performances Lewandowski had over the course of the campaign. He was the definition of consistency during Bayern’s run to the title in the Bundesliga. Lewandowski only failed to score in six of the 31 matches he featured in.

If Haaland is going to dethrone Lewandowski, then he will have to match him goal for goal. The battle between these two strikers could be decided by a single match, depending on how close they are at the end of the season. Any run of poor form for Haaland will likely see him lose the race.

The possibility of a new record

Having a Golden Boot race featuring Lewandowski and Haaland might lead to a new single-season record being set. The record stands at 40 goals, which was set by Gerd Müller during the 1971-72 season. Lewandowski has come the closest in recent years with his 34 goals.

With Haaland pushing Lewandowski this season, it could result in a new record being set. The two players are certainly capable of producing a campaign of 30 goals or more. But can they reach 40? If there’s any season where it could happen, it has to be this one. Lewandowski is coming off of his best season to date, while Haaland will be looking to cement himself as the man to take over as the best striker in the world.

It’s going to be an incredible battle between these two talented forwards, and the outcome could be historic. Haaland has what it takes to better Lewandowski’s goal total, but the reigning Golden Boot winner is going to be tough to beat. This is going to be one of the more interesting individual battles next season.