Another day, another record for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
The Poland superstar, 33, can now boast the earliest hat-trick in Champions League history following an extra-quickfire treble against RB Salzburg.
Lewandowski broke Gerd Muller’s record for goals in a single Bundesliga season last termGetty
Having failed to have a single shot on goal in the first-leg, Lewandowski left the Austrian side with some hope going into the return fixture, with the tie level at 1-1.
However, he extinguished those hopes within 23 minutes, reminding the Austrians of his enduring quality, in case they’d forgotten.
Only ten minutes and 24 seconds separated his first goal and third goal, although they came to him pretty easily.
The Bayern striker netted his first two from the penalty spot in the 12th and 21st minute – before getting a rather fortunate bounce off the Salzburg goalkeeper for a simple third in the 23rd minute.
Poor Sebastien Haller must be wondering what more he can do, having lost his place at the top of this season’s Champions League goalscoring charts.
The Ajax forward has 11 goals in seven games, but still trails Lewandowski, who now has 12 in eight.
This could be a long night for SalzburgGetty
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Oh, and at the time of writing, there are still 45 minutes left at The Allianz Arena.
Unfortunately for the Austrian’s, the six-time Champions League winners were in ruthless mood after Lewandowski claimed the match ball.
Former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry got in on the act to make it 4-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.
After half time, Bayern were keen to extend their advantage again and did so through Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane.
And it’s FIVE!
Thomas Müller gets in on the action for Bayern.
Controls the ball, turns and finishes brilliantly
#UCL pic.twitter.com/5Ot3ALtDd1
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 8, 2022
The former produced a second-half brace whilst the ex-Manchester City winger rounded off the scoring.
There was a consolation for the visitors, who will be glad to see the back of the German champions, as they marched onto the quarter-finals of the competition with a 7-1 win on the night and 8-2 on aggregate.
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