Is Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane on course to break Robert Lewandowski's goals record?
With 17 goals in his first 11 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?
The simple answer is yes. Yes, he is.
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
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 4-0 Der Klassiker victory over Dortmund on Saturday was his second treble in successive games, and he bagged a brace in the subsequent 4-2 win over Heidenheim.
For context, the last player to achieve back-to-back hat-tricks was Mario Gomez back in 2011. Kane also has three Bundesliga hat-tricks this term, a feat only ever matched at the same stage of a season by Cologne’s Christian Müller - what is it with that surname and goals? - in 1964/65.
Watch: Will Kane or Serhou Guirassy break Robert Lewandowski's record?
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The forward’s latest exploits took him top of the Bundesliga scoring charts on 17 goals, two ahead of injured VfB Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy. Last season, Niclas Füllkrug and Christopher Nkunku shared the Torjägerkanone with 16 apiece. The only player in the Bundesliga’s 60-year history ever to score 15 goals after 10 rounds of matches was Gerd Müller, who had the exact same tally in 1968/69.
Der Bomber was unable to maintain that rhythm though, and only struck another 15 times over the rest of the season to finish on 30 goals.
Meanwhile, Müller and Lewandowski had only scored four (four!) and 12 each in their respective record-breaking years at this stage.
Add into the mix Kane’s five Bundesliga assists – only RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons has more with six – and the Bayern No.9 has been directly involved in 22 goals this season. Since detailed data collection began in the Bundesliga in 1992/93, nobody has ever reached that figure so quickly.
Watch: Kane under the tactical microscope
So, can Kane break Lewandowski’s record? Injuries, squad rotation and dips in form may yet play a role, but mathematically speaking, he’s on course to blow it out of the water.
Kane is currently averaging 57 minutes per goal in the Bundesliga. There are 2,070 minutes still available to him across the remaining 23 league matches, so if he maintains his current pace, he will notch another 36 goals to finish the season with 53. If anyone can do it, Kane can.
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