Tuesday World Football Roundup: 5-Goal Lewandowski Shreds Wolfsburg

Bayern Munich substitute Robert Lewandowski turned in an astonishing performance against Wolfsburg on Tuesday in the Bundesliga, scoring five goals in quick succession as the champions claimed a 5-1 victory.

Lewandowski, a half-time substitute, leveled the score in the 51st minute with his first goal of the night. He netted again just a minute later and completed his hat-trick in the 55th minute. 

He wasn't done.

A fourth goal followed in the 57th minute, with the fifth coming just three more minutes later. And so, between the 51st and 60th minutes, Lewandowski—almost unbelievable—had scored five goals. WhoScored.com gave him a perfect 10.0 rating, and the Poland international was obviously the man of the match.

Per STATS Football, Lewandowski needed just three minutes, 21 seconds to score three goals:

Afterwards, the Internet struggled to put Lewandowski's staggering feat into proper context. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, it was the fastest hat-trick in Bundesliga history:

Infostrada Sports pointed out that he was just the 14th player to score five goals in a Bundesliga match—and the first since 1991. And ESPN's Dale Johnson reported that the Pole was the first substitute to do so:

"

Robert Lewandowski is the only substitute to score 5 goals in a Bundesliga match. Again, no shock.

— Dale Johnson (@dalejohnsonESPN) September 22, 2015"

Johnson also noted that Lewandowski scored his five goals faster than any other player in Bundesliga history.

Squawka, meanwhile, showed that the Bayern striker has scored more league goals this season than three major European clubs:

So how did it rank in Lewandowski's own oeuvre? The 27-year-old scored four times against Real Madrid in one 2013 UEFA Champions League semi-final match, and because of the occasion, that performance was probably more significant.

But as B/R contributor Clark Whitney argued, Tuesday's five-goal haul topped it for sheer entertainment.

For Bayern, it was a sixth win in as many Bundesliga matches—and a sign that Pep Guardiola's men are on track for another historic season. According to Opta, only one other team has ever collected 18 points and scored 17 or more goals in the first six games of a Bundesliga season.

That other team was Bayern Munich in 2012-13, the year the Bavarians won the treble.

“I am very happy for Robert,” Bayern manager Pep Guardiola said, per the Guardian. “For his confidence and our future this was extremely important."

Guardiola added: “I can’t really understand it. Five goals. Neither as a coach nor as a player did I ever experience something like this and I can’t really explain it. Five goals against Wolfsburg are never easy.”

Lewandowski and table-topping Bayern will hope to continue their strong run on Saturday at Mainz. Three days later, the Bundesliga champions return to the Champions League for a home match against Dinamo Zagreb. With Lewandowski—and so many others—in such great form, those games might just be must-see television. 

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will try to shake off their first loss of the season when they host Hannover 96 on Saturday. The Wolves then play at Manchester United in the Champions League next Wednesday. 

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

Zlatan opens scoring account in PSG win

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first goal of the Ligue 1 season as Paris Saint-Germain beat visiting Guingamp, 3-0.

PSG had drawn back-to-back matches to raise concerns over their league form, but Tuesday's victory sent Laurent Blanc's side four points clear atop the table until at least Wednesday.

Javier Pastore and Angel Di Maria scored either side of half-time—both players also netting their first league goals of the season—to give PSG a comfortable lead. Ibrahimovic, who also set up a goal, scored in the 83rd minute before seeing a late penalty saved.

Atletico, Milan win

Antoine Griezmann fired in two more goals as Atletico Madrid won, 2-0, over visiting Getafe in La Liga.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

Griezmann netted twice last week in the Champions League against Galatasaray but had not found the target in the league since opening day. His goals in the fourth and 90th minutes were all Atletico needed to climb to the top of the table.

Diego Simeone's side will remain there until at least Wednesday, when both Barcelona and Real Madrid are scheduled to play

In Serie A, Mario Balotelli scored his first goal since returning to AC Milan as the Rossoneri held off Udinese Calcio, 3-2. The Italian striker drew a foul and converted the ensuing free-kick in the fifth minute for an early Milan lead.

The visitors took a 3-0 advantage into half-time before Udinese pulled two goals back through Duvan Zapata and Emmanuel Badu.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

City overwhelm sorry Sunderland

Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling all scored in the first half as Manchester City dominated Sunderland, 4-1, in the Capital One Cup. The early Premier League leaders took a strong starting XI into the Stadium of Light and thoroughly outclassed their visitors throughout the opening 45 minutes.

Vito Mannone put into his own net for City's other goal. Trailing 4-0 at half-time, Sunderland pulled a goal back through Ola Toivonen in the 83rd minute. United States international DeAndre Yedlin, making his debut for the Black Cats, recorded the assist.

Elsewhere in the Capital One Cup, Aston Villa edged rivals Birmingham City, 1-0, Everton came from behind to beat second-tier Reading, 2-1, and Leicester City needed extra time to see off West Ham United, 2-1, in an all-Premier League matchup.