Robert Lewandowski beat a long-standing Bundesliga goals record set by Gerd Muller by opening the scoring for Bayern Munich against Freiburg on Sunday.
Lewandowski played a key role in Bayern's run to the treble last season, firing 55 goals in 47 games across all competitions.
Of those efforts, 34 were recorded in the German top flight, with the 32-year-old narrowly missing out on the European Golden Shoe by one goal behind Lazio's Ciro Immobile.
The Poland international is leading the race for that award midway through the 2020-21 campaign, though, having once again been the driving force behind Bayern's bid to maintain their domestic dominance.
Lewandowski took his tally to 21 goals after producing a trademark finish seven minutes into Bayern's clash with Freiburg, who are currently 10 points behind Hansi Flick's side in the standings.
The experienced centre-forward surpassed Muller's mark of 20 goals in the first half of a single German top-flight season with his strike on matchday 16 - a record which the World Cup winner had held for 42 years.
Lewandowski secured a place alongside the Bayern legend in the club's hall of fame a long time ago, but he is also now making a case to be remembered as the greatest striker of his generation.
He won FIFA's The Best Men's Player award for 2020 after another outstanding year in Germany, and will be on course for more personal accolades if he continues on his current trajectory.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker was also touted as a potential Ballon d'Or winner before the latest ceremony was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, which robbed him of the chance to end Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's stranglehold over the annual prize.
The Barcelona captain has won the Ballon d'Or six times while the Juventus frontman has won five, but Lewandowski admitted he feels like he has reached the same level as the pair during an interview with France Football in December.
"If you take the numbers for this year and even previous ones, I think I'm pretty good in terms of performance and goals scored," he said.
“Failing to be at the same table as Messi and Ronaldo, I think I can invite them to eat at mine!”
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