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Berlin - 'Crazy' and 'unbelievable' were the superlatives flying around German football on Wednesday after Robert Lewandowski's stunning five-goal haul in nine Bundesliga minutes for Bayern Munich.
Bayern
He managed his hat-trick in three minutes, 22 seconds, four in 5:42 and his fifth goal came after just 8:59 -- all league records which were achieved within the 51st and 60th minutes.
Three of the goals were grabbed from point-blank range, but the second was a superb
In its 52-year history, the Bundesliga has seen nothing like it.
"I was in the stadium and I couldn't believe my eyes," ex-Germany captain Lothar Matthaeus told Sky Sports. "It was simply crazy."
It was the first time five goals have been scored in a single German league match since Michael Toennies in August 1991 in a 6-2 win for Duisburg against Karlsruhe -- but that was achieved in 57 minutes.
Lewandowski's feat is on a par with 1970s stars Dieter Mueller, the only player to have scored six goals in a Bundesliga match, and Gerd Mueller, who scored five goals on four occasions for Bayern -- but never so fast.
"He (Lewandowski) was where Gerd Mueller was, he was always in the right place at the right time," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Lewandowski, 27, admitted being amazed by how fast his goals flew
"After the fifth goal I thought, 'I'll try to shoot another goal'," which he nearly achieved on 68 and 80 minutes as clear chances went begging.
As his captain Philipp Lahm put it: "He could have gone home with seven goals" while Thomas Muller said Lewandowski had inspired those around him.
"It was like the whole team was unleashed," said the Germany forward.
Dieter Muller, 61, watching the game at home, started shaking when he realised his record was under serious threat having scored six goals for Cologne in a 7-2 league win against Bremen in August 1977.
"I started
"Normally, he would have scored the sixth, but it wasn't to be."
Muller said Lewandowski and Thomas Muller are the names most likely to break his record.
"I'm proud of my record, it's a bit out of the ordinary.
"We used to say it was a record for eternity, but now it seems just a matter of time.
"Thomas Muller is perhaps also able to do it, I'd trust him to do it.
"I have always said it can only be someone from Bayern, they have an exceptional team."
Amazingly, Lewandowski, who joined Bayern for the 2014/15 season, only made his mark in the Bundesliga thanks to
Having started the first 13 league matches of the 2010/11 season as Barrios's understudy, Lewandowski seized his chance with 22 goals in 34 league games for Dortmund the following season.
"He is the most exciting player I've seen in the last 10 or 15 years," said then-Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp after Lewandowski signed for Borussia from Lech Poznan in Poland in 2010.
"We needed someone with a very strong back to goal, with a very good technique and a good finisher, with a real desire score."
Lewandowski wrote himself into Champions League folklore by becoming the first player to score four goals in a semi-final when Borussia routed Real Madrid 4-1 in Dortmund in April 2013.
With eight goals in five games now, Lewandowski is the league's top scorer, while Thomas Muller has six from six.
Bayern host Dortmund in a mouth-watering league clash on October 4 which pitches 'Lewangoalski' against his former club.
"Lewandowski has written Bundesliga history, not just just yesterday, but for a few years," pointed out Matthaeus.
"Wolfsburg was Bayern's number one chaser before this season, but now Dortmund has got into the mix and will probably stay there.
"Wolfsburg are now seven points behind Bayern and at this stage of the season that is already quite a sum."
