LISBON, Portugal (AP) Champions League Final Showdown: Robert Lewandowski had been playing for almost a decade when Kylian Mbappe began his career.
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The Bayern Munich and Poland striker had scored more than 100 goals by the time the young Frenchman made his professional debut, and he had won the German Bundesliga five times before Mbappe lifted his first domestic league trophy with Monaco.
The 32-year-old Lewandowski and the 21-year-old Paris Saint-Germain ahead of Mbappe are a generation apart, but they will face each other in the Champions League final on Sunday with the same goal – winning the European Championship. title for the first time.
It would be a nine-attempt for Lewandowski, while Mbappe would sound it in his fourth thread.
Lewandowski on Sunday will also have a chance to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 17 goals in one Champions League season. The Portugal star reached the milestone in the 2013-14 season. The Bayern marksman enters the Champions League final this year with 15 goals from nine matches.
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“The fact (Lewandowski) obviously poses an enormous threat to the goal is not only known since this season, so for me he is simply the best center-back in the world,” said Bayern coach Hansi Flick. “So I’m just jealous to see how things go and of course hope he scores against Paris as well.”
Lewandowski is the third player to score in at least nine consecutive Champions League matches, along with Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The four he took 15 minutes apart against Red Star Belgrade in the group stage this season was the fastest square in the history of the competition.
Lewandowski has 50 Champions League goals with Bayern and 68 in total, only behind Ronaldo (130), Lionel Messi (115) and Raul Gonzalez (71).
The Polish star was in a Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 2013, losing 2-1 to Bayern. Against Real Madrid, he became the first player to score four goals in the semi-finals.
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Lewandowski has reached the last four on three occasions since joining Bayern in 2014, but this is his first appearance for the German powerhouse in the Champions League final.
Mbappe made it to his first semi-final during Monaco’s surprise run in 2016-17 and then endured subsequent round-of-16 eliminations after joining PSG.
He played an ankle injury in this quarterfinal this month, but now appears fully fit. He is the joint leading Champions League score this season with five goals, along with Mauro Icardi.
But neither Mbappe – yet another forward – has come close to Lewandowski’s numbers this season. The Bayern striker has averaged five shots per game in the Champions League, scoring with almost every third shot, according to statistical analysts Driblab. He also created more than two chances per game.
However, winning Sunday’s match for their respective clubs is the only thing that really matters.
