Lewandowski one of the best and can lead Bayern to glory - Toni
The relentless brilliance of Robert Lewandowski could see Bayern Munich enjoy a very successful season, according to former striker Luca Toni.
A double in the 4-0 Bundesliga win over Cologne on Saturday took Lewandowski to nine goals in just five league appearances in 2019-20.
The 31-year-old, who signed a new contract through to 2023 in August, had reached 200 in all competitions for Bayern when he struck in the 3-0 Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade last week.
Lewandowski's future had been unclear prior to the announcement of his new deal, but Toni now hopes to see the Poland star bring trophies to the Allianz Arena this season.
"He is one of the best. I like him so much because he lives in the box and scores a lot of goals," Toni told Omnisport.
"Let's say this: it's really hard to criticise Lewandowski. He is a great player. Sometimes, it happens that he does not score.
"Team success basically comes through strikers' goals. Here we have a strong striker like Lewandowski and I am pretty sure he can lead Bayern to success."
goals in minutes! #OnThisDay years ago Robert #Lewandowski made history #MiaSanMia @lewy_official pic.twitter.com/MqsGRcW9j2
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) September 22, 2019
Lewandowski's form has helped Bayern to three wins and two draws from their first five league games of the season, putting them two points behind early pace-setters RB Leipzig.
There are five teams on 10 points, including Borussia Dortmund, leading Toni to hope for stronger competition this term as Bayern go in search of an eighth title in a row.
"The Bundesliga has to be a challenging league," said Toni, who won the domestic double with Bayern in 2008. "In Italy, Juventus won the Scudetto last year with lots of games to go, and this often happens in Germany with Bayern.
"I hope for all the Bundesliga and the whole football movement for a very interesting league where three or more teams, maybe an underdog as well, are able to take results against the big teams."
Similarly, Toni is hoping for a stronger title fight in Serie A this season, with Antonio Conte's Inter and Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli tipped to challenge Juventus' dominance of the top flight.
"Juventus are the strongest," Toni admitted. "They have basically two teams made of 22 champions. It will be hard [for other teams] but Inter improved the squad in the market and Napoli completed their squad.
"It would be great for Italian football if those teams could fight for the Scudetto. They are the best: Inter, Napoli and Juventus."