The era of Robert Lewandowski is coming to an end.
The reign of Luka Jovic is dawning.
Yes, there’s a new Bundesliga striker on everybody’s lips and, after matching Lewandowski’s historic five-star display at the weekend, the Jovic hype train really is worth boarding.
SIGN UP – WIN £5k BY PLAYING DREAM TEAM WEEKENDER THIS WEEKEND
We will always have the Pole’s five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg, prompting that unforgettable reaction from Pep Guardiola.
He’s reigned supreme for so long in Germany that any suggestion of competition for the Golden Boot seems alien.
But this is shaping up to be a truly bizarre and potentially seismic season in Germany.
Jovic is now a record breaker of his own, becoming the youngest player in Bundesliga history to hit five in a single match against Fortuna Dusseldorf last Friday.
Into the second year of his two-year loan from Benfica, the 20-year-old is built in the same mould as Frankfurt team-mate Ante Rebic.
His bruising, bullying nature has led to the nickname the ‘Serbian Falcao’ and his impressive goal return suggests, when everything clicks, he could be a menace.
Basically he’s a real problem.
Jovic is only the 15th player in Bundesliga history to achieve the feat, joining the likes of Lewandowski and Gerd Muller in that elite band.
And he’s not only leapfrogged Lewandowski at the top of this season’s scoring charts, but also dwarfed his goals-to-minutes ratio in the German top flight.
Jovic now has 15 goals in his first 25 appearances – the most of any player to have reached that total.
It wasn’t just the clinical nature of his five goals that was so astounding, but also the eclectic variety of his finishes.
Jovic’s first will undeniably go down as one of the strikes of the season, a sumptuous acrobatic effort from above his eyeline.
After that it was unerring finish after unerring finish. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Header. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Jovic and Frankfurt are on the up, shocking Bayern Munich in the German Cup final last season which prompted the Bavarian giants to swoop for manager Niko Kovac.
But while Kovac and Bayern are in a funk, Frankfurt have continued where they left off and could really make a splash in the most open Bundesliga season for years.
With Jovic and Rebic in tandem up top, they have the firepower to cause some serious damage.
READ MORE:
- If you think Mesut Ozil isn’t world-class because of his casual demeanour then perhaps football isn’t for you
- How Mauro Icardi ignored the modern way to become Europe’s best poacher
- The good, the bad and the ugly of Hoffenheim’s Bundesliga Brazilians