FACE OFF
Robert Lewandowski returns to Bayern Munich seeking to extend incredible Champions League record at the Allianz and faces former team-mate Thomas Muller who loves scoring against Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in the world and has been for a long time.
The Pole became a legend at Bayern Munch, but the idea of playing for Barcelona at 34 was too much to resist and he got his wish over the summer.
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Since switching Germany for Spain, the forward has scored nine goals in six games, including a hat-trick against Viktoria Pilzen last week.
This made him the first player in Champions League history to score a hat-trick for three different clubs - Borussia Dortmund, Bayern and now Barca.
Lewandowski was born to score goals and will be looking to break Bayern's hearts at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
The Bundesliga side host Barcelona in the Champions League and Lewandowski boasts a ridiculous goalscoring record in Munich.
In 37 matches at the Allianz, he has scored 38 goals and is one of only two players to average more than a goal per game after playing 15+ matches at one venue. The other is Cristiano Ronaldo at the Bernabeu, which isn't bad company to have.
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This will also be Lewandowski's first game at the Allianz as an opposition player since 2014 when he lined up for Dortmund.
He can now become the fourth player to score both for and against Bayern in the Champions League after Giovane Elber, Roy Makaay and Lukas Podolski.
But even if he does score, his former team-mate Thomas Muller is the one Barca need to watch out for.
The former World Cup winner is one of the most intelligent players in the game and always has a knack for knowing where he needs to be to make an impact. And he loves playing Barcelona!
The 32-year-old has eight goals in seven ties against the La Liga giants, which is three more than anyone else in Champions League history.
So the battle between Lewandowski and Muller should be fascinating, and the latter is looking forward to it.
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Muller said after Bayern drew Barcelona in the Champions League: “What a nice draw for all football fans! Mr LewanGOALski, see you soon in Munich! Let’s rock the Champions League season."
Bayern's president Herbert Hainer added: “I hope, and that is my great wish, that people are nice to Robert and that he has a friendly welcome, because he played eight years with us, scored a lot of goals and decided a lot of games, and we won all the big titles.
“And in the end, everyone got what they wanted: Robert could go to Barcelona, Barcelona are happy to have Lewandowski and we have money to invest in our future. Everyone should feel comfortable and I hope our fans will welcome him.”
And Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann said: "I am looking forward to it, not so much as an opponent because he's very dangerous, but as a person I will be pleased to see him."
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