Among the many sporting events cancelled for 2020, the Ballon D’or award ceremony was one. This year will mark the first time the trophy given for the world’s best men’s footballer has not been awarded since Englishman Stanley Matthews won the inaugural edition in 1956. And hence, we were spared the (often tedious) debate of why <insert name of winner> did not deserve it, but it should have been <insert name of contender> to get that accolade. Instead, we had fans arguing who was robbed this year.

And the name dominating that discussion was Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski.

He showed just why that was the case with yet another stellar performance on Saturday to mark the return of Champions League action. Lewandowski scored twice and set up two more goals as Bayern Munich cruised into the UCL quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over Chelsea in the second leg of their last-16 tie Saturday.

Leading 3-0 from February’s first leg in London, Lewandowski converted a penalty and then created a goal for Ivan Perisic. Tammy Abraham pulled one back for Chelsea before strikes from Corentin Tolisso and Lewandowski wrapped up a 7-1 aggregate win.

The Polish striker was the star of the show for Bayern Munich as his performance, once again, fuelled comparisons with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Watch: Lionel Messi scores stunning solo goal against Napoli to help Barcelona reach UCL quarters

The brace helped Lewandowski take his tally to 13 goals in the Champions League this season, the most by any player. Incredibly, his overall tally for the 2019-’20 season now stands at 53 goals.

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Lewandowski is three clear of Erling Haaland in the Champions League goalscorers’ charts this season and seven clear of teammate Serge Gnabry, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus who are the joint second-highest scoring players still active in this season’s Champions League. Ronaldo only scored four goals in this season’s while Messi so far has only two goals to his name.

Top goalscorers - UCL 2019-'20

Pos Player Club Goals
1 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 13
2 Erling Haaland Salzburg/Borussia Dortmund 10
3 Dries Mertens Napoli 6
3 Harry Kane Tottenham 6
3 Serge Gnabry Bayern Munich 6
3 Raheem Sterling Manchester City 6
3 Memphis Depay Lyon 6
3 Gabriel Jesus Manchester City 6
8 Kylian Mbappe PSG 5
8 Heung-Min Son Tottenham 5

Lewandowski will now have his eyes set on Ronaldo’s record of most goals scored in a single UCL campaign. He needs four more goals to match his tally.

Most goals in single UCL season

Rank Player Season Goals
1 Cristiano Ronaldo 2013–14 17
2 Cristiano Ronaldo 2015–16 16
3 Cristiano Ronaldo 2017–18 15
4 José Altafini 1962–63 14
4 Lionel Messi 2011–12 14
6 Robert Lewandowski 2019–20 13
7 Ferenc Puskás 1959–60 12
7 Gerd Müller 1972–73 12
7 Ruud van Nistelrooy 2002–03 12
7 Lionel Messi 2010–11 12
7 Mario Gómez 2011–12 12
7 Cristiano Ronaldo 2012–13 12
7 Cristiano Ronaldo 2016–17 12
7 Lionel Messi 2018–19 12

Against Chelsea, the Polish striker hand a hand in all seven goals scored by Bayern Munich, another unique achievement for the man who once scored a remarkable four goals in 16 second-half minutes.

In addition, Lewandowski is also among the leading providers in the Champions League this season, proving that he is a complete footballer who scores as well as creates goals when on song.

Top assist makers - UCL 2019-'20

Position Player Club Assists
1 Hakim Ziyech Ajax Amsterdam 5
2 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 4
2 Kylian Mbappe PSG 4
2 Corentin Tolisso Bayern Munich 4
2 Angel di Maria PSG 4
2 Riyad Mahrez Manchester City 4
2 Roberto Firmino Liverpool 4
3 Gabriel Jesus Manchester City 3

Lewondowski is now the fourth-highest scorer in Champions League history, going past Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema thanks to his brace against the Blues. He’s only behind Ronaldo, Messi and Raul.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker has been in terrific form this season and that has been largely down to Bayern Munich’s incredible turnaround since Hansi Flick’s arrival.

Bayern Munich have won all eight matches in the Champions League this season and have scored 31 goals in the process, 11 more than PSG and Manchester City who have the joint second-best tally.

The Bavarians also have the joint second-best defensive record in the competition this season having conceded just six goals this season. Only PSG have conceded fewer goals (4) this season.

Bayern Munich seem to have some special liking for London clubs having already scored ten goals against Tottenham Hotsour earlier this season

Looking ahead, Bayern now face their toughest test in the Champions League so far as they come up against Messi’s Barcelona in the quarter-final. The contest has been tipped as a battle between the Argentine and Lewandowski. Can the Polish star outscore the Barcelona legend? It promises to be a blockbuster.