Five years on: The story behind Robert Lewandowski´s five goals in nine minutes

Robert Lewandowski famously scored five goals in just nine minutes for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg five years ago today.

The Poland international achieved the astonishing feat on September 22, 2015 in a match that ultimately finished 5-1 to Bayern.

A half-time substitute, Lewandowski’s heroics ensured Bayern came from behind to thrash Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena.

Here, we look at the story behind one of the finest moments of Lewandowski’s career.

.@lewy_official: “The coach didn’t have to say anything – I knew what I had to do.” #FCBWOB #FCBayern pic.twitter.com/CNs5o6bTG5

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) September 22, 2015

WHAT HAPPENED

Then a 27-year-old, Lewandowski was introduced at half-time and fired in a four-minute hat-trick before adding two more in a breathless spell from Bayern.

Bayern had started the game on the front foot, but Wolfsburg stunned the home fans on 26 minutes as Daniel Caligiuri fired in emphatically following Julian Draxler’s pass.

Pep Guardiola’s side struggled to break through a resilient away defence and they almost found themselves two down when Josuha Guilavogui hit the post from inside his own half, with Manuel Neuer stranded.

But the half-time arrival of Lewandowski turned the game on its head as he became the first substitute to score five times in a Bundesliga match, leaving Wolfsburg shellshocked.

Respect even paid by Berni the Bear.#Lewandowski #bayern pic.twitter.com/IkDvs3R5cu

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 22, 2015

THE FIVE GOALS

With things not looking good, Guardiola threw on Lewandowski and the change paid dividends almost immediately, with his first arriving on 51 minutes. 

Thomas Muller was denied by goalkeeper Diego Benaglio after a fine team move involving Mario Gotze and Arturo Vidal, but Lewandowski was on hand to poke the ball home on the rebound.

The Poland striker put Bayern in front just a minute later, lashing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

He then sealed a stunning four-minute hat-trick – the fastest in Bundesliga history – as he prodded in after initially hitting the post after being set up by Muller.

Wolfsburg were completely rattled and Lewandowski helped himself to a fourth in the 57th minute as he turned in Douglas Costa’s cross with a crisp strike.

But the former Borussia Dortmund man saved his best for last in the 60th minute – a sensational acrobatic volley which flew past Benaglio and left Guardiola speechless on the sidelines.

163 – @lewy_official @FCBayernEN @Bundesliga_EN pic.twitter.com/ujA65DQwjS

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) September 18, 2020

IT COULD HAVE BEEN SEVEN

A combination of Benaglio and Ricardo Rodriguez on the goal-line only just stopped Lewandowski from scoring again in the closing stages.

There was another chance too – former Bayern defender Dante blocked another Lewandowski effort inside the area as the champions cruised to victory.

The win put Bayern three points clear at the top of the table and they went on to win the title by a margin of 10 to nearest challengers Dortmund.

After the match, Bayern defender Philipp Lahm said Lewandowski could, and perhaps should, have added to his total after the initial five-goal heroics.

Lahm said: “At half-time a player came in who did a little something. It was incredible. Just madness. And he had two more chances, so he should have gone home with seven goals.”

WHAT HE SAID

Immediately following the match, Lewandowski admitted it was an “incredible” feeling to score five goals in just nine second-half minutes and did not realise at the time how quickly his goals had come.

“I am very satisfied, that was incredible,” he said. “I just wanted to shoot, I didn’t really think what will happen afterwards.

“Having been one down, we knew that we must improve and score twice at least. But five goals, that’s incredible.

“I don’t know how fast it was, but it was fast. But when you’re on the pitch, you’re just focused on football. I looked at the scoreboard, it was the 60th minute and I only thought: ‘Ooh.’

“Guardiola didn’t need to say anything, I know what I have to do on the pitch.”

#Lewandowski: “I am very pleased… this was crazy! Five goals – that’s an incredible evening!” pic.twitter.com/uFwoC9O8Xk

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 22, 2015

Lewandowski was asked to compare the game to Dortmund’s 4-1 thrashing of Real Madrid in the 2012-13 Champions League semi-finals, in which he scored four.

“It was a very important game – that was a very big event in my life,” he said. “Now five goals, that is a great night for me.”

Reflecting on his performance the morning after, Lewandowski thanked fans on Instagram and apologised for not making himself available for requested media appearances due to Bayern’s busy schedule.

Lewandowski described it as “an amazing evening for me”, alongside a picture of himself with the signed match ball.

He insisted he was most glad to have helped the team and acknowledged messages of congratulations he had received from all over the world. 

WHAT THEY SAID

Speaking to reporters after the match, team-mate Jerome Boateng called Lewandowski one of the world’s best strikers and was grateful he only had to compete with him in training.

Guardiola, meanwhile, who had been visibly baffled on the touchline, was left in disbelief, saying: “I’ve never experienced such a situation, either as coach or as a player.

“Five goals in nine minutes. I am very happy for Robert. You play poorly for 45 minutes and then grab five goals in nine minutes. I cannot explain it.”

Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking was less thrilled but fared no better in attempting to explain Lewandowski’s showing. 

He said: “What can I say? A world-class striker shot five times on goal and could have scored seven. That is how it happened.

“But with our quality this should not happen. We had a good first half and Bayern could not up the pace of the game and then came these nine minutes. It’s inexplicable.”

“When your half-time substitute scores five!” #Lewandowski #Pep pic.twitter.com/5WA4xjOj9V

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) September 22, 2015

Wolfsburg midfielder Maximilian Arnold could only rue the defensive collapse from his side, adding: “We can’t explain that, five goals in nine minutes. There is no reason to talk about it, it’s just s***.”

Lewandowski’s agent Cezary Kucharski was thrilled with the impact the feat had on his client’s market value, but all but ruled out a move to one of the Manchester clubs amid a flurry of increased transfer talk after the match.

“Games like the one against Wolfsburg immensely help a player increase his value,” he said. “I have a plan for the rest of Robert’s career in my head.

“Could that plan take him to Manchester? It’s always raining over there. Munich is much more beautiful and a better place to live.”

Kucharski suggested a move to Spain would be more appealing, but as we know he ultimately remained at Bayern, signing a lucrative new contract in December 2017.

That deal was extended with fresh terms in August 2019, tying him to the club until 2023.

THE BEST OPTA STATS

Since the start of the 2015-16 season – when Lewandowski’s five-goal performance took place – there is only one player who has scored more goals than him in Europe’s top-five leagues: Lionel Messi.

– Messi has netted 158 times, compared to a magnificent 146 for Lewandowski over that period.

– The Poland striker’s total puts him above other greats like Cristiano Ronaldo (139), Luis Suarez (131), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (124) and Harry Kane (120).

How does Lewandowski’s feat compare to other similar achievements?

– In Serie A, since 1986 there has only been one example of a player scoring five goals in a game, which was when Miroslav Klose did so for Lazio against Bologna in May 2013. That took him 40 minutes.

– Five players have done that during the Premier League era in England: Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Jermain Defoe, Dimitar Berbatov and Sergio Aguero. Manchester City striker Aguero was the fastest, scoring his five in 20 minutes.

– No LaLiga player has scored five since 1960. Laszlo Kubala has the Spanish top-flight’s record for the fastest five-goal streak at 19 minutes, as part of seven he scored in a 1952 match for Barcelona against Sporting Gijon.

– In Ligue 1, there has only been one occasion since 1984, which was Carlos Eduardo’s quintet for Nice against Guingamp in October 2014. The French top-flight record for fastest five goals is held by Carlos Bianchi at 31 minutes, scored for Reims against Paris Saint-Germain in 1974.

– Lewandowski’s nine minutes is the fastest in Germany and across the top-five leagues, though Luka Jovic emulated his haul three years later for Eintracht Frankfurt against Dusseldorf in October 2018.

– Those two feats were the only occasions of a player scoring five or more in the Bundesliga since 1991. The great Gerd Muller did it four times between 1972 and 1976.