‘Scoring five goals in nine minutes is an epic thing. Someone cleared another chance off the line and I was a bit angry afterwards – I could have had six!’: Robert Lewandowski bemoans failing to hit double hat-trick while at Bayern Munich

(GERMANY OUT) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern) und Thomas Mueller (Bayern) unterhalten sich nach dem Fussball Bundesliga Spiel FC Bayern Muenchen gegen VfL Wolfsburg am 6. Spieltag der Saison 2015/2016 in der Allianz Arena am 22. September 2015 in Muenchen. Endstand 5:1. (Photo by GASPA\ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Lewandowski and Muller during the 5-1 win (Image credit: Getty Images)

Robert Lewandowski believes he should have scored a double hat-trick while playing for Bayern Munich, despite still managing to hit a goalscoring record in the same game.

Coming on as a substitute at half-time against Wolfsburg in September 2015, then Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola needed Lewandowski to help his side back into the game. 1-0 down, the Bavarian giants were at risk of losing their first game of the season.

The Polish striker had an immediate impact, though, scoring three goals in three minutes and 22 seconds, four in five minutes and 42 seconds and his fifth after eight minutes and 59 seconds - a world-record breaking feat. By the 60th minute, Bayern were 5-1 ahead, though Lewandowski wasn't fully satisfied come the end of the game.

Robert Lewandowski reflects on scoring five goals in nine minutes

(GERMANY OUT) Thomas Mueller (Bayern) reisst Robert Lewandowski (Bayern) die Arme hoch nach dem Fussball Bundesliga Spiel FC Bayern Muenchen gegen VfL Wolfsburg am 6. Spieltag der Saison 2015/2016 in der Allianz Arena am 22. September 2015 in Muenchen. Endstand 5:1. (Photo by GASPA\ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Lewandowski bagged five in nine minutes (Image credit: Getty Images)

"Even after the game, I didn’t know what I had done,": Lewandowski exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "I knew I’d scored the goals, but Thomas Muller pushed me to the fans after the game and I was like, ‘Why?’ OK, we won and I scored the goals, but I didn’t think I’d done something historic.

"During those nine minutes, I think I was somewhere else; I didn’t think about how many minutes it took, or how many goals I scored. When I scored the first, I was thinking, ‘OK, it’s 1-1, you need a second’. After the second, ‘OK, you need a third, then we’ll be sure we’re going to win’.

Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring for Bayern Munich against Greuther Furth, February 2022

Lewandowski while at Bayern Munich (Image credit: Alamy)

"Then I scored the third and the fourth and the fifth, but I still didn’t think about how many goals I’d scored because I was looking for the next opportunity."

But while Lewandowski does still rue the chance to score a second hat-trick in the game, he acknowledges that the feat might not have looked quite as impressive for one particular reason.

"I also had a chance for a sixth goal – someone cleared the ball off the line and I was a bit angry after the game because I could have scored six," Lewandowski says. "But then I told myself that the sixth goal wouldn’t have been inside 10 minutes; it would have been I don’t know how many minutes later.

"Five goals in nine minutes, because of the numbers – five and nine – is some epic thing that will stay with me for the rest of my life."

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.