Meet Robert Lewandowski. Last week the Polish international scored the equalizer in Bayern Munich’s match against Hertha Berlin [after WAY too much stoppage time]. This week’s match against Hamburg was much less controversial as Bayern clubbed Hamburg like a baby seal, winning 8-0. Lewandowski got the hat trick [and had another hit the post]. The first goal came from the penalty spot in the 24th minute, He notched his second goal in the 42nd minute. Shortly after play resumed in the second half, Lewandowski got the hat trick in the 54th minute. With 12 goals in his last ten and 19 for the campaign, the 28-year-old now sits level at the top of the scoring charts with Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. And like Aubameyang, Lewandowski is one of the best footballers in Europe.
Meet Lukasz Piszczek. The Polish international is a defender for Borussia Dortmund. In the Week 21 match against Wolfsburg, Piszczek had a hand in all three goals in Dortmund’s 3-0 victory. Dortmund drew first blood when a cross from Piszczek deflected off Wolfsburg midfielder Jeffrey Bruma and found the back of his own net. Piszczek pounded home a free-kick to give Dortmund a 2-0 lead after 48 minutes. Piszczek was also involved in Dortmund’s third goal, as the Polish international’s cross found midfielder Ousmane Dembele, who added the third goal with a header. Piszczek has set a personal best with five league goals in a Bundesliga season.
Meet Karim Bellarabi. The German international midfielder picked up his first goal of the season today for Bayer Leverkusen against Augsburg today. Significantly, Bellarabi’s goal in the 23rd minute is the 50,000th goal in Bundesliga history. Friedhelm Konietzka scored the very first Bundesliga goal for Borussia Dortmund against Werder Bremen in 1963. Bellarabi missed most of the first half of the current season with a groin injury that required surgery [I saw the game in September where he got hurt]. Of note, Bellarabi once scored what at the time was the fastest goal in Bundesliga history [9 seconds after kickoff], back in August 2014 against Borussia Dortmund [Hoffenheim winger Kevin Volland (now with Leverkusen) broke that record last season against Bayern Munich – 8 seconds. I saw that game, too.].
Meet Thiago Alcántara. The Spanish national footballer plays center midfield for Bayern Munich. In today's UEFA Champions League match against Arsenal, Thiago had himself quite a day. Bayern and Arsenal were knotted up 1-1 at halftime. In the second half Thiago scored two goals in less than ten minutes to break the game open for Bayern. To top that off, he added an assist when Thomas Muller scored in the waning moments to seal Bayern's victory over Arsenal, 5-1. The two teams meet again in London in 3 weeks. For Arsenal to advance to the UEFA Champions League semifinal, they need a shutout and to win by four at the bare minimum. Good luck with that...
