Lewandowski scores 200th Bundesliga goal

Robert Lewandowski has scored the 200th Bundesliga goal of his career, fittingly saving it for a potentially season-defining Der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund.

The Bayern Munich striker punished a Dan-Axel Zagadou error in the 17th minute to double his side’s early lead against his former employers at Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Lewandowski pounced on a turnover, strode through on goal, brilliantly dinked the ball over Roman Burki and stroked home into the unguarded net to reach the mark in style.

The 30-year-old’s milestone strike fittingly arrived against the side at which he established himself as one of the most exciting strikers in European football, having joined Bayern from Dortmund in 2014.

284 – Robert #Lewandowski has scored his 200th #Bundesliga goal in his 284th appearance in the competition – only Gerd #Müller has reached that milestone in fewer appearances (234). Lewangoalski. #FCBBVB @FCBayernEN pic.twitter.com/hdx6zNEens

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) April 6, 2019

It was at the Signal Iduna Park where he really rose to prominence, scoring 74 Bundesliga goals in 131 appearances, a remarkable record considering he managed just eight in 33 games during his first campaign.

Despite his exceptional form at Dortmund, the club did not manage to get a transfer fee for him, as he departed on a free transfer to Bayern.

Since then, he has gone on to score 126 times in the Bundesliga for Bayern.

He has taken just 153 appearances to reach that figure for the German champions, while he hit the 200 milestone in 284 top-flight outings.

Of the 200, 187 were scored inside the penalty area, while 22 of a possible 25 came from the penalty spot.

Unsurprisingly he has been most prominent with his right foot, which has provided 131  goals, and his favourite opposition is Wolfsburg, whom he has scored against 20 times in 17 games.

Lewandowski is the Bundesliga’s all-time leading foreign scorer and is on course to top the division’s scoring charts for a fourth time this season. Only Gerd Muller (seven) has done so more times.