Lewandowski or Erling Haaland? Who is the better player?
The two great rivals did not get to play against each other for a long time as they both moved to different clubs in the same window. Robert Lewandowski has been the hero of FC Bayern Munich for almost 8 years before moving to Barcelona. Over the recent years, Lewandowski has shown us how good a player he is and what he brings to the table.
On the other hand, Erling Haaland is comparatively too young yet has more enthusiasm and skills compared to Lewandowski. People criticized his decision to move into the Premier League and now he is the top scorer in the league and will also win the Golden Boot. Only if he was English himself then he would have had the ‘English Tax‘ and greater praises.
In the case of Lewandowski, his eyes are on the ultimate title which keeps running away from him. The player was expected to win the Ballon D’or during the covid period but unfortunately, the ceremony was cancelled due to the covid pandemic. In the following year, he lost to Lionel Messi by a close margin. It must be hard to be Robert Lewandowski, he knows that if he wants the Ballon D’or then he needs to move to Barcelona as the Spanish clubs has been luckier in the past decade for winning big individual titles.
1: Player Stats
The best way to differentiate between two Strikers is to see how good they were at scoring in their career. In the case of these two, they are known for scoring goals for fun. Haaland is just at the start of his career yet he has more goals than Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 22. The two players have an age gap of 13 years between them and so we can not compare them based on total career stats instead we will compare them based on the best season they have had.
Luckily both players have had their best year in the season of 2020/21.
Head-to-Head:
| Lewandowski | Haaland | |
| Matches | 29 | 28 |
| Goals | 41 | 27 |
| Shots | 137 | 93 |
| Assists | 7 | 6 |
| Passes | 518 | 470 |
| Pass Success % | 77% | 74% |
| Offsides | 22 | 18 |
| Fouls | 41 | 21 |
Champions League Perfomance of Haaland and Lewandowski:
| Lewandowski | Haaland | |
| Matches | 108 | 21 |
| Goals | 89 | 26 |
| Assists | 25 | 3 |
Overall Career Stats:
| Lewandowski | Haaland | |
| Matches | 684 | 193 |
| Goals | 520 | 149 |
| Assists | 137 | 37 |
It’s clear that Lewanwoski has a lot more goals compared to Erling and he deserves to be the winner in this category. In the case of Haaland he has a better goal ratio, he will also go on to break his Champions League goal tally in future. The way things stand it looks like Lewandowski edges over Haaland in this category.
2: Titles Won
| Lewandowski | Haaland | |
| Champions League | 1 | 0 |
| Bunesliga | 10 | 0 |
| German Cup | 4 | 1 |
| FIFA CWC | 1 | 0 |
| UEFA SuperCup | 1 | 0 |
| Austrian League | N/A | 1 |
| Austrian Cup | N/A | 1 |
| Others | 9 | 0 |
Haaland may have few titles at this moment but we must also consider that he had moved to Manchester City, over the past few years this team is winning the Premier League like there is not enough competition for them. Pep can bring a lot of titles to the cabinet of Erling Haaland in future.
3: International Career
The Norwegian striker is comparatively young yet very beneficial to his country. Haaland was the footballer of the year for Norway for 2 years in a row and it looks like he is going to win plenty more. Norway does not have a very strong team and it would be a big task for Haaland to win an international title with Norway.
The Captain of the Poland National team is a gem for his country. The Barcelona player has scored some of the most beautiful goals for his country. Unfortunately, just like Norway even Poland does not have a very strong team which makes it difficult for Lewandowski to win an International Title with his country. Lewandowski he highly passionate and would do anything in his power to make a name for his country.
4: Personal Life
Erling Haaland is a fun person who is known for his funny interaction with the media and fans. Haaland is currently focusing on the upcoming World Cup and keeping his body fit to stay at the top and make a legacy that will last for decades.
Robert Lewandowski is a man who loves nature and playing golf. He also is fond of riding cars and bikes when he is not scoring goals for Barcelona. Lewa has been in the media for the TikTok videos he made and to be honest, those are pretty hilarious. Overall Lewandowski lives a good life with his wife and two daughters. The player is currently focused to bring glory back to Barcelona.
5: Individual Honours
When it comes to strikers one of the best ways to compare them is based on individual awards that they have achieved over their careers.
Individual honours of Erling Haaland:
Eliteserien Breakthrough of the Year: 2018
Austrian Footballer of the Year: 2019
FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Boot: 2019
UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2019
Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2020–21
Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: January 2020, February 2020
Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2020–21, 2021–22
Premier League Player of the Month: August 2022
ESM Team of the Year: 2019–20
IFFHS Men’s World Youth (U20) Team: 2020
Golden Boy: 2020
Gullballen: 2020
Kniksen’s honour award: 2020
Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year: 2020
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2020–21
UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season: 2020–21
UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 2020–21
UEFA Nations League top scorer: 2020–21
FIFA FIFPro World11: 2021
Individual honours of Robert Lewandowski:
Ballon d’Or Striker of the Year: 2021
European Golden Shoe: 2020–21, 2021–22
The Best FIFA Men’s Player: 2020, 2021
FIFA FIFPro World11: 2020, 2021
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2020
IFFHS World’s Best Man Player: 2020, 2021
IFFHS World’s Best Top Goal Scorer: 2020, 2021
IFFHS World’s Best International Goal Scorer: 2015, 2021
IFFHS World’s Best Top Division Goal Scorer: 2021
IFFHS Men’s World Team: 2020, 2021
IFFHS World Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
IFFHS UEFA Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
UEFA Men’s Player of the Year: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League top goalscorer: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2019–20
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21
UEFA Team of the Year: 2019, 2020
UEFA Euro qualifying Best Player: 2016
Laureus World Sports Awards – Exceptional Achievement Award (2022)
ESM Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
European Sportsperson of the Year: 2020
World Soccer Player of the Year: 2020, 2021
FourFourTwo Player of the Year: 2020, 2021
Tuttosport Golden Player: 2020, 2021
The Guardian Best Footballer in the World: 2020, 2021
Goal 50: 2019–20
Globe Soccer Best Player of the Year: 2020
Globe Soccer Fans’ Player of the Year: 2021
Globe Soccer Maradona Award: 2021
Guinness World Record (x4): 2015
Ekstraklasa Best Player: 2009
Ekstraklasa top goalscorer: 2009–10
Ekstraklasa Goal of the Season: 2008–09
II liga top goalscorer: 2007–08
III liga top goalscorer: 2006–07
Polish Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
Polish Sports Personality of the Year: 2015, 2020, 2021
Polish Young Player of the Year: 2008
VDV Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21
VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2016–17, 2019–20
Bundesliga Goal of the Month: March 2019, August 2019, May 2021
Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
Robert Lewandowski is way ahead of Erling Haaland in terms of individual titles. He is the winner in this category.
Is Haaland better than Lewandowski?
Lewandowski is miles ahead of Haaland in each of the criteria that we have compared them on. It is understandable as they have a huge age gap between them. Let us understand one thing here is that if Haaland continues his current form then he won’t just be above Lewandowski but also above some of the best players who ever played the beautiful game.
The numbers of Haaland are unreal. It’s just a matter of time when Haaland will catch up to Lewa’s numbers and the debate will completely change.
lewandowski is better clearly