Lewandowski nets fastest hat-trick in Bayern’s 5-1 win

MUNICH, September 23

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Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski netted the Bundesliga’s fastest hat-trick on his way to a sensational five-goal haul as a halftime substitute in their 5-1 demolition of VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

He scored three goals in four minutes from the 51st to the 55th before quickly adding two more, including a spectacular volley, to become the first Bundesliga player to score five times in nine minutes.

“This was just crazy,” Lewandowski said, having instantly turned the game around after the Bavarians trailed 1-0 at halftime. “Five goals, that’s just unbelievable. We were behind at the end of the first half and I wanted to step on the gas because we needed two goals,” said the Poland captain, who in 2013 scored four goals for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

“I look up at the board after the third or fourth goal and I was surprised there was still so much time left to play. The coach did not have to tell me anything. I knew what had to be done.”

Lewandowski, who started on the bench beause he had just come back from a minor muscle injury, also became the first Bundesliga substitute to score five goals, and was one short of the all-time record goal haul of six by Cologne striker Dieter Mueller in 1977 in their 7-2 win over Werder Bremen.

“This is something I have never experienced before,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, left stunned on the sidelines, said. “Five goals in nine minutes. Robert has been a great player in Germany and the world for some time now.”

The previous fastest hat-trick was scored by Duisburg’s Michael Toennies in 1991 in a six-minute spell. — Reuters