Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich heads the ball against Hertha Berlin on August 28 in Munich, Germany. Photo: VCG

Another weekend and another record for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

This time Lewandowksi went one better than the Bavarians' super striker Gerd Muller, who died last month, by scoring in a 16th straight match for Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski scored a hat trick of the German kind - three goals in one half uninterrupted by anyone else scoring in between - against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga.

That meant he had scored in every Bayern match since a 3-3 draw against Arminia Bielefeld back in February.

Muller, who died on August 15, had scored in 15 consecutive matches for Bayern over late 1969 and early 1970.

"Of course I'm always hungry, but especially physically I feel very good, probably better than three years ago," Lewandowski said after the win over the Berlin side at Bayern's Allianz Arena.

It is a good job as Lewandowksi breaks records with alarming regularity. On the final day of last season, the Poland skipper scored against FC Augsburg to set a new record of 41 goals in a single Bundesliga season - bettering Muller's 1971-72 benchmark by a single goal.

Lewandowski's 16 goalscoring games in a row include 13 consecutive Bundesliga games plus Bayern's last-16 matches against Lazio in the UEFA Champions League last season and this season's German Supercup against Borussia Dortmund.  

The Poland international also scored in his 12th home league match in a row to level the record of Muller in the 1969-70 season and former Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes in the 1972-73 campaign.

Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann has been impressed with Lewandowski since taking over the biggest job in Germany.

"He's incredibly consistent, has a great ability to drop between the lines and gets involved in the game a lot," Nagelsmann said after Bayern beat Hertha Berlin.

"He is incredibly dangerous because he can finish with every legal part of his body. He's also a great person. His goalscoring appetite is exceptional."

Former boss Pep Guardiola is a fan too, and praised the Polish hitman when the press asked if Manchester City were going to make a move for the striker.

Lewandowski was widely expected to win the 2020 Ballon d'Or but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He scored 46 goals last season but that was not enough to merit a nod as UEFA's Player of the Year.

Lewandowski was fifth in the list behind Lionel Messi and a top three of Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Kevin de Bruyne, much to the dismay of football fans. Maybe he needed to score more.

Teammate Thomas Muller seemed to think that Lewandowski should have scored more against Hertha Berlin.

"I asked Robert at halftime if he's not yet fit or if he's now at the next level, because he was letting balls through in the penalty area for a better-positioned player," Muller joked after the win where the Polish striker did let the ball run for him to score.

"You don't get anything if you don't get a touch on the ball. We agreed that he's at the next level," Muller laughed.

"He notices that when he plays more selflessly, that we still serve him and that he scores his goals. That's the crazy thing, then he'll do a hat trick in passing. He has a nose, then he has skills - left, right, head, body, he knows where a ball is going, where it can be dangerous." 

As the Bundesliga website pointed out, Lewandowski has scored 15 hat tricks in the German top flight with only Gerd Muller, on a remarkable 32, bettering that.

Lewandowski's goals also took past the 300-goal mark for Bayern putting him in another exclusive club.

Of course, Gerd Muller has scored more ­- 566 goals in 607 games for Bayern ­- but he is the only one.

Lewandowski has 301 goals in 333 games. Not bad for someone signed on a free transfer.

That makes him only the fifth player to manage it for a single club in the last 30 years and with Lewandowksi in such fine form who would bet against him finding the net again when Bayern's season resumes after the international break?

The Bavarians will play RB Leipzig on September 11 and then begin their UEFA Champions League campaign with a visit to Barcelona.

So just who is he chasing down now?

Lionel Messi

The Barcelona legend has since left the club for Paris St-Germain this summer but his record looks somewhat unreachable even for the prolific Pole. Messi spent 17 years in the first team at the Camp Nou and notched 672 goals in 778 games in the famous blue and red shirt between 2004 and 2021.  

Cristiano Ronaldo

The Portugal forward, who has recently swapped Juventus for a return to Manchester United, has arguably more striking numbers than Messi. He scored 450 goals in 438 games for Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Raul

Another Real Madrid player and another club legend, Raul came through the youth ranks at the Bernabeu with the crowd quickly taking to their striker after he made his debut in 1994.

Raul was not as prolific as the likes of Ronaldo and Messi, whose numbers are somewhat superhuman, but bagged a healthy 323 goals for Los Blancos across 741 games before leaving Madrid in 2010.

Lewandowksi, who scored 46 goals last season, could easily catch Raul during this campaign even if he is only half as deadly in front of goal this time out.

Francesco Totti

The Roma legend was a one-club man and the king of the Stadio Olimpico during 25 years with the Giallorossi. Totti made his debut as a teenager in 1992 and retired as an almost mythical figure in 2017. In between there were 307 goals in 786 games for Roma.

A hat trick against Leipzig would see Lewandowski level Totti.