Robert Lewandowski Explodes into Form as Bayern Munich Dominate Hannover

Heading into Saturday's Bundesliga run-in with Hannover, the pressure was on Bayern Munich's attack to be more ruthless.

The German champions entered the fixture tied with Leverkusen for the most goals scored in the league, but their conversion rate of 1.83 goals per game was well below that of the previous two seasons (2.8 and 2.9, respectively).

After Bayern's narrow 1-0 midweek Champions League win over CSKA Moscow, Manuel Neuer and captain Philipp Lahm called for more goals from their team, according to Kicker (via Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC). Coach Pep Guardiola echoed his players' sentiments before Saturday's match, per Bild (in German).

Although Neuer and Guardiola in particular were clear in not criticizing Robert Lewandowski for what had been an altogether unimpressive strike rate, the pressure was on the Polish striker as the Hannover match approached.

The star signing of the summer transfer window, Lewandowski had scored just two goals in 10 games in all competitions. Playing as the main striker, any goal deficiency of course would be more his responsibility to correct than that of any of his team-mates.

On Saturday, Lewandowski exploded into form. Once lacking in confidence from a growing number of missed chances, including a penalty, the 26-year-old for the first time showed the kind of quality that made him a world superstar at Dortmund. It was mostly due to his brilliance that the result of the match was decided before half-time.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

It took just six minutes for Lewandowsk to put Bayern ahead, the striker fielding Rafinha's long pass with a soft touch and clinically sliding the ball into Ron-Robert Zieler's net. After Arjen Robben made it 2-0, Lewandowski took a similar long pass with a similarly delicate touch and once again finished coolly to complete his brace.

In the end, Lewandowski was somewhat unfortunate not to net a hat-trick. He badly missed on one header but was otherwise denied by top-drawer goalkeeping or last-ditch challenges. In six matches prior to Saturday's, he'd taken just 16 shots. On Saturday, he raised that tally by nearly 50 percent to 23 shots, according to the official Bundesliga live ticker.

Bayern played a different brand of football on Saturday than they had in recent games—one that was more suitable to Lewandowski, and ironically, one that in the past has been found effective in exploiting their own weaknesses at the back.

With Hannover playing a high defensive line and rather slow centre-backs with little support from wide defenders, Lewandowski was able to run into the space between the defenders and Zieler. Instead of waiting for crosses, which never was his strong point, he was able to use one of his greatest strengths: his ability to move into gaps between defenders and twist opponents into tactical pretzels.

Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press

Guardiola, who once said, according to Spanish newspaper AS (via ESPN), that it is "impossible" to effectively transition from defense to attack without 15 passes, deserves credit for apparently allowing his team to play to their strengths and indeed play more hopeful, risky passes. It seems to be the ticket to success for his star striker.

Lewandowski will have breathed a big sigh of relief and will take a big boost of confidence from his performance on Saturday. The Pole has repeatedly proved himself as a 30-goal-per-season striker in the past and, although he's gotten off to a slow start, he will have every chance to do so in 2014-15. He certainly has enough class available in his supporting staff.

Make no mistake, the Hannover match could be remembered in the long term as the turning point in Lewandowski's career at Bayern. Either way, on Saturday, we got a timely reminder of what Lewandowski can provide.

For sure, the best is yet to come.

Follow Clark Whitney on Twitter.