Robert Lewandowski on Tuesday scored a record-breaking 11-minute hat-trick to send Bayern Munich sailing into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-1 win at home to Salzburg.
The Polish striker had three goals to his name by the 23rd minute — the earliest anyone has ever completed a hat-trick in a Champions League game — as Bayern shook off their early nerves to crush Salzburg.
“This was definitely a statement from us, and it gives us hope that there is more like this to come,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told Amazon Prime after his side reached the last eight for a record 20th time.
Photo: AFP
Austrian champions Salzburg had held Bayern to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but their hopes of an upset in Munich were left in tatters when Lewandowski scored a tap-in and two penalties to send Bayern on their way to a famous victory.
With just 10 minutes, 27 seconds between Lewandowski’s first and third goals, it was the fastest of the six hat-tricks that the Pole has scored in the Champions League.
“We knew we had to attack the box early today and get Lewy into the game, because he is so hard to defend against,” Thomas Mueller said.
“We all knew how important this game was today. If we had been knocked out, it would have been a very sad next three months for us,” he added.
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