Is Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane on course to break Robert Lewandowski's goals record?
With 36 goals in his first 32 Bundesliga games, Harry Kane has set records tumbling at Bayern Munich. But is he on course to break Robert Lewandowski’s single-season best mark of 41?
Time is running out for Kane to beat the Polish legend, but it is still possible, especially considering the rate at which the Englishman has found the back of the net this season.
You can have your say on whether he will indeed manage it in our vote below:
For the uninitiated, Bayern legend Gerd Müller set what was thought to be an unbreakable goal record of 40 in the 1971/72 campaign, a figure that stood as a benchmark for strikers for almost 50 years.
That was until Lewandowski went one better in the 2020/21 campaign, poking in his 41st goal in the 90th minute on the final day of the season to seal a 5-2 win over Augsburg. Surely, people thought, there’s no way anybody can come close to that again.
Watch: All 41 Lewandowski goals in 2020/21
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Lewandowski ‘only’ scored 35 the following year, and while Erling Haaland gave it his best shot at Dortmund, even he only managed 27 and 22 goals respectively in his two full seasons at the club.
All of which makes Kane’s brilliant start to life in Germany all the more astonishing. The 30-year-old’s hat-trick in Bayern's 8-1 thrashing of Mainz on Matchday 25 was his fourth of the campaign, which is something no player had ever managed in their maiden season in the Bundesliga.
He's also the first to achieve back-to-back hat-tricks in the German top flight since Mario Gomez back in 2011.
He's chipped in with five braces, too, and has only failed to find the net in nine out of 32 fixtures as he's reached the 36-goal mark - setting both a personal best in a league season and a new record for a player in their first Bundesliga season (beating Uwe Seeler's 30 in the league's maiden campaign in 1963/64)
Watch: Every Kane goal in the Bundesliga (pre-Matchday 31)
The forward’s latest effort, a penalty in the 3-1 defeat against Stuttgart, took him further clear of Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy (36 goals to 25). Last season, Niclas Füllkrug and Christopher Nkunku shared the Torjägerkanone with 16 apiece.
Watch: Kane and Lewandowski compared over the first 26 matchdays
Add into the mix Kane’s eight Bundesliga assists and the Bayern No.9 has been directly involved in 44 goals this season. Regardless of what happens, the Englishman's season will be one to remember.
Watch: Kane under the tactical microscope
So, can Kane break Lewandowski’s record? Mathematically speaking, he could yet do it.
Kane is currently averaging a goal every 76 minutes he plays in the Bundesliga. There are 180 minutes still available to him across the remaining three league matches, so if he maintains his current pace, he will notch another two goals to finish the season with... 38.
He's three behind where Lewandowski was after Matchday 31. Lewy missed four games between Matchdays 27-30 with injury (plus he was rested for one match earlier in the campaign), to get his 41 from 29 appearances. Kane is yet to miss a match and will hope to have both available fixtures left to add to his total.
Five goals to equal the record and six goals to surpass it is a huge ask, even for Kane. However, you wouldn't bet against him doing either just yet.
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