Rivals Lewandowski and Aubameyang Lead the Way for Bayern Munich and Dortmund

With 15 matches left to play, the race for top honors in the Bundesliga is neck-and-neck. Not the title race, though—Bayern Munich appear to have that one done and dusted, with eight points separating them from Borussia Dortmund in second. Rather, it's the race for the Torjagerkanone, the trophy awarded to the German top flight's top scorer at the end of every season.

Through 19 rounds of action, BVB's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the way with 20 goals. Bayern goal-getter Robert Lewandowski is hot on his heels with 19.

The Gabon international bailed out a lackluster Dortmund side on Saturday as he scored both of his team's goals in a 2-0 win against Ingolstadt. Lewandowski had considerably more support on Sunday as Bayern dominated Hoffenheim, but he similarly rescued his side, who as a result of injuries were forced to play with a makeshift defense. The scorer of the game's only two goals, the Polish striker moved back to within one goal of his top rival for the top-scorer award.

The race between Aubameyang and Lewandowski is an interesting one on a number of levels. To begin with, it's one area in which the Bundesliga is actually competitive at the top. Many outsiders are turned off by the fact Bayern have made walking to the title a habit. Yet at least in this case, we're entering February with the favorite chasing the underdog.

The other interesting reality of the race for the Bundesliga's goalscoring honors is that the German league finally has a few top-class strikers. It wasn't long ago, 2006-07, when Theofanis Gekas was top scorer with 20 goals. That same figure was enough for Lewandowski to win the award in 2013-14, and Alex Meier claimed the award (albeit partly due to his being injured) with just 19 goals last season.

Now, the Bundesliga has not only Lewandowski and Aubameyang but Javier Hernandez; after a slow start, the Bayer Leverkusen man is quickly rising up the ranks with 13 strikes to his name. Chicharito will probably exceed 20 on the season. So too will Thomas Muller, although the Bayern attacking all-rounder isn't exactly a natural striker as teammate Lewandowski is.

Still, the pair deservedly are sharing the spotlight are the two in the hunt for records: Aubameyang and Lewandowski. At the moment, the France-born forward is on pace for just under 36 goals; the Bayern goal-getter 34. Both tallies would be historic; the last time any player hit 34 was in 1976-77, when Dieter Muller reached that tally for Cologne. Thirty-six were scored by Gerd Muller in 1972-73, a year after his record-setting tally of 40.

Of course, both players will be keen to score as many goals as possible. And Gerd Muller's record is certainly within striking distance of both. Speaking to Ruhr Nachrichten (h/t Goal) after his brace on Saturday, Aubameyang asked: "I still need to score 20 goals to do it, right? That's a lot, but in football, you never know."

That may be true, but Aubameyang's scoring is as explosive as his turn of pace. As is Lewandowski's. The latter did the unthinkable when he put four past Real Madrid in 2013 and netted five in nine minutes against Wolfsburg earlier this season.

In football, anything is possible—it's up to the players to bend our perception of what is normal and what can be achieved. For the next few months, the race to be the top scorer looks set to be a joy. Even if there is no title race, the competition for the Torjagerkanone is at least one fans of German football can savor.

@Mr_Bundesliga