Robert Lewandowski warmed up for Poland’s trip to Wembley with yet another stunning performance for Bayern Munich.
The prolific striker scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 thrashing of Stuttgart on Saturday, shortly after it was confirmed he will be available for the World Cup qualifier with England at the end of the month.
Lewandowski had been the subject of a standoff between Bayern and Poland, with the former unwilling to let the player travel to the United Kingdom and face a 14-day quarantine on his return to Germany.
But the head of the Poland FA confirmed late on Friday the dispute has been resolved, with the 32-year-old no longer required to self-isolate after travelling to face the Three Lions.
(Image: LUKAS BARTH-TUTTAS/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Bayern boss Hansi Flick confirmed this after watching Lewandowsi plunder three more goals against Stuttgart, taking his tally for the season to 42 in 36 games.
Lewandowski combined with Serge Gnabry for the 17th-minute opener before heading in his second six minutes later.
Gnabry grabbed the third before Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a venomous strike from the edge of the area shortly before half-time.
(Image: Francois Nel)
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Bayern’s victory was even more impressive considering they played almost the entire match with 10 men, after Alphonso Davies was sent off for a poor challenge 12 minutes in.
Meanwhile, Lewandowski pulled clear of Schalke legend Klaus Fischer as the second-top scorer in Bundesliga history – behind Gerd Muller – with 271 goals in 346 games.
“That makes me very proud,” said the former Borussia Dortmund man of his achievement.
“We played a very strong first half. After the red card we woke up. But it was a challenge for us to win the game with ten men.”
Lewandowski’s form will have alerted Gareth Southgate, who faces the unenviable task of conjuring a plan to keep Europe’s most-prolific marksmen quiet in two Wednesday’s time.
The England boss announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with San Marino, Albania and Poland earlier this week.
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