As one of the greatest goalscorers of his generation, Robert Lewandowski's career highlights are largely attributed to his time at Bayern Munich.
However, breaking onto the scene at Borussia Dortmund, and after leaving Bayern for Barcelona following eight years at the Allianz Arena, Lewandowski has played against his former club 17 times across an illustrious career.
Like how many of Europe's finest have found though, it is not always plain sailing when facing the German juggernauts.
Here, Sports Mole looks back on Lewandowski's career record against his former employers.
© Imago
Robert Lewandowski's record vs. Bayern Munich
Played: 17
Won: 8
Drawn: 2
Lost: 7
Goals: 6
Assists: 0
Lewandowski has been far from clinical against Bayern, failing to score in 13 of his 17 encounters with the Bavarians, but he has enjoyed some memorable days against them.
The Polish forward won on his first five appearances against Bayern with Dortmund, and his first goal was a crucial one, in the 1-0 victory in April 2012 that pretty much sealed the Bundesliga title for BVB.
A month later, the two met in Berlin for the DFB-Pokal final, and Lewandowski had one of the best games of a career that has had many high points, scoring a hat-trick as Dortmund completed the domestic double under Jurgen Klopp, beating Bayern 5-2.
The next season was heartbreak for Lewandowski and Dortmund though, as Bayern snatched back the Meisterschale, winning the title by 25 points, beating them in the German Super Cup, the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals, and most importantly in the Champions League final at Wembley.
Lewandowski did score in the Super Cup final defeat, but was unable to have an influence in the two crucial meetings in the Pokal and the Champions League final, before moving to Munich a year later, where he scored an incredible 344 goals in 375 games, second in the club's all-time scorers chart only behind the great Gerd Muller.
Eight years at the Allianz came to an end in 2022, when Lewandowski moved to Barcelona, and in his first season with the Spanish giants, they were drawn against his old club in the group stages.
There was no joy for the Pole in either meeting, as Bayern continued their dominance over Barca, winning both home and away matches to nil, as Lewandowski saw his side eliminated from the competition.
However, after not scoring against Bayern since the Super Cup in 2012, a run that had stretched nine games, Lewandowski put that right by netting the second goal in the 4-1 thrashing Barca handed the Bavarians in the Champions League in October 2024, with manager Hansi Flick also among those to haunt their former employers on that occasion.
Andrew Delaney
