Lewandowski Magic Lifts Bayern Munich Again as Striker's Stunner Downs Cologne

Looking back at recent history, it's quite remarkable that for a short spell last February, Robert Lewandowski wasn't even a starter at Bayern Munich.

The striker has carried his side from success to success this season, and his 36th goal, in Saturday's win over Cologne, pulled him level with his best-ever single-season haul. Accentuating the brilliance of this tally are the fact that only one of his goals thus far has been a penalty, and there still are two months left in the campaign. For perspective, his 44 strikes for club and country in 2015-16 exceed even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He's been that good.

Some will rightly point out that it's easier to score when you are the lone striker in a team that has a high percentage of the possession and when you're supported by world-class playmakers. This much is true. And Lewandowski's goal against Werder Bremen last week meant rather little in the context of a 5-0 victory, especially given that his was the fourth and came in so-called "garbage time."

But if not for Lewandowski's contributions over the last two games alone, Bayern might be heading into the international break having been eliminated from the UEFA Champions League and with just a three-point lead in the Bundesliga table.

In Wednesday's Champions League round-of-16 second-leg clash, Juventus were 2-0 ahead in Munich and Bayern were struggling as the match had entered its final quarter. Yet on 73 minutes, Douglas Costa whipped in a missile of a cross. Lewandowski anticipated its flight perfectly, peeled away from his marker, and redirected the ball off his head and into the net.

That first goal ended about half-an-hour of frustration for Bayern, who had been applying pressure without end product. It left them just one goal from drawing the tie level, and it gave them belief that they could progress. Ultimately, they did after extra time.

"

Goals for club & country 2015/16:
Lewandowski 44
Suarez 43
Ronaldo 40
Messi 40
Neymar 28

— Cristian Nyari (@CrisNyari) March 19, 2016"

Just three days later, Bayern had another tough fixture. They visited Cologne having had only two full days of recovery after their 120-minute marathon against Juve.

Costa, who'd played 120 minutes against the Italian giants, struggled, and Thomas Muller spent the whole game on the bench. Kingsley Coman, who'd played the final hour of the midweek match, also didn't look up to the task. But Lewandowski, who'd gone the distance against Juve, came up aces against Cologne.

The hosts hardly made a mistake all game. The one mistake was a botched clearance by Dominique Heintz, who didn't have enough time to react and try to send the ball downfield.

The ball rolled tamely to Lewandowski at the edge of the box. The striker also had precious little time to react, and his task was much more difficult than simply hoofing it aimlessly and as far away as possible. But where Heintz failed, Lewandowski succeeded.

Not only did the Polish striker react to control the ball, he realized that goalkeeper Timo Horn wasn't perfectly positioned and, with his first touch, curled the ball just inside the left post. Lewandowski's quickness of thought and foot, plus his incredible precision, resulted in the only goal of the match.

That's the difference between Heintz, a center back at a mid-table club, and Lewandowski, a world-class striker.

Lewandowski's moment of inspiration made all the difference for Bayern on Saturday, removing all the pressure to score that always comes when Bayern take on domestic opposition. The fact that his weary teammates struggled for fluency going forward was of little significance, for the impetus was on Cologne to earn back their point. They couldn't, and Bayern took the spoils.

Bayern as a team have rarely failed to win this season, and they have a range of heroes to thank. But among these heroes, Lewandowski stands out. He might be the best striker in the world right now, and entering the business end of the campaign, he's coming up aces again and again. Sometimes football is not about tactics; sometimes it's about a player giving his all and simply putting the ball into the net.

@Mr_Bundesliga