Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski takes commanding lead in Torjägerkanone race

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed a remarkable year. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed a remarkable year. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Robert Lewandowksi takes a seven-goal advantage in the race for the Torjägerkanone into 2021.

The incredible start to the 2020/21 Bundesliga season has given Robert Lewandowski a commanding lead in the Bundesliga top scorer race. In just 12 appearances in the German top flight this season, the Polish striker has scored 17 goals.

With an average of 1.54 goals per 90 minutes played, the Bayern Munich star appears he is well on his way to claiming the top scorer award in the Bundesliga for the sixth time in his career.

An incredible pace

Lewandowski has set a blistering pace in the race for the Torjägerkanone. No other player in the Bundesliga is within five goals of Lewandowski. The nearest competitor is Erling Braut Haaland who suffered an injury that has limited his appearances in recent weeks. Haaland has 10 goals in eight appearances and will likely continue to be the main competitor for Lewandowski.

With a seven-goal gap between Haaland and Lewandowski entering the 2021 portion of the schedule, it’s very unlikely that the Norwegian striker will overtake the veteran. Looking down the current standings in the Torjägerkanone race, there are two players at nine goals apiece with Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Andre Silva occupying the third and fourth spots in the standings. Both players are ones to watch in this race but they are already eight goals behind Lewandowski and that gap likely will not be reduced with 21 matches to play in the season.

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Topping the leaderboards

There are many statistical categories that Lewandowski is currently leading in. A few of the key ones include non-penalty kick goals per 90 minutes played, goals and assists combined, and shots on target.

When it comes to scoring goals this season, Lewandowski has not had many penalty kick opportunities in the Bundesliga. Just two of his 17 goals have come from spot-kicks. As a result, he leads the league with an average of 1.36 non-penalty kick goals per 90 minutes played.

With a total of four assists, he has a combined goal and assist total of 21. Lewandowski leads the stat category by eight. Bayern teammate Thomas Müller is in second place with a combined total of 13.

There’s been no shortage of opportunities for Lewandowski to score this season and his league-leading 49 shots show this. Of the 49 shots, 21 have been on target which has allowed Lewandowski to lead the Bundesliga in shots on target per 90 minutes played and total shots per 90 minutes played.

A 40 goal season?

Lewandowski’s current 1.54 goals per 90 minutes played is the best record of his entire career. For this reason, it’s very possible that the 2020/21 Bundesliga season could see the Polish goal scorer either reach or eclipse the 40 goal mark. He’s already at 17 goals and the halfway point of the season has not been reached yet. In order to make history and become the record holder for the most goals scored in a single season, he will need to score 41 goals. There’s no question he is capable of accomplishing this and we all might be witnessing a historic season from Lewandowski.