Robert Lewandowski: 'It's impossible to score 40 goals in the Bundesliga today'
No player today can score 40 goals in the Bundesliga, just like Gerd Müller did in the 1970s, claims Robert Lewandowski.
Robert Lewandowski says it's impossible to break Gerd Müller's record for most goals scored in a Bundesliga season.
The former German international set the record in the 1971–72 season, which saw him hit the back of the net 40 times in the league.
Despite finishing the league with a personal best of 34 goals in just 31 games this season, Lewandowski couldn't match Müller's record – and he doesn't think any player would be able to hit 40 goals in the Bundesliga today.
"It's impossible to compare what happened at that time with today. I took a very close look at the season back then. Bayern won 11-1 against Dortmund, among others. The difference between the top five and bottom five was, in my opinion, much greater at that time. Today, even the teams in the lower half of the table are good at defending and have a high level of discipline," Lewandowski said in an interview with Sport Bild and added:
"We play a lot more games today: DFB-Pokal, Champions League, Bundesliga, many international games and so on. The focus is less on the league than it was then, I think. I have played 31 games this season, scoring 34 goals. That hasn't happened in the Bundesliga for over 40 years. I missed three games. Who knows what I could have achieved if I didn't?
"However, I don't think any player in the world can score 40 goals in the Bundesliga today. If we had 38 games each season, maybe we could talk about it. But with the strain of modern football, it's getting very difficult. This would only work - if at all - if a top team were to play in one competition only, with the league as the sole focus."
Lewandowski has scored 162 goals in 190 Bundesliga games for Bayern.