Robert Lewandowski: Barcelona’s goal machine
Lewandowski has 20 goals in 22 games for Barça and made his mark in the Super Cup.
Robert Lewandowski arrived at Barcelona with the expectation of hitting the ground running. And he has not failed. The Poland international showed his class as the Blaugrana picked up their first trophy under Xavi. In the semi-final against Real Betis, despite not having his best day, he made it 1-0 and, after having the goal that would have made it 2-1 disallowed for offside, he gave Barça peace of mind in the shootout by scoring the first penalty. In the final, on the stroke of half-time, he made it 2-0 after Gavi set him up. But his output went much further than that as he was involved in all three goals against Real Madrid. He assisted the first to Gavi and set up the third.
Lewandowski, 34, has four seasons left on his Barça contract, and has 20 goals in 22 appearances for Barça. Like clockwork, the Pole has scored 13 goals in 15 LaLiga games (a goal every 90 minutes he has been on the pitch), five in five Champions League games (a goal every 89 minutes) and two goals in two Super Cup games. He is giving everything that could be expected at Barça; goals, titles and, above all, commitment.
Lewandowski has set LaLiga as the main objective of the season, without forgetting that Barça has to clean up its image in Europe, where the tie against Manchester United is a good opportunity. He will now have time to rest and it is likely that he will not travel to Ceuta for the Copa del Rey clash and will also miss the league games against Getafe and Girona. His next matches should be the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey and against Sevilla in La Liga.
Lewandowski’s words in the interview he gave to La Vanguardia just after Barça were knocked out of the Champions League reverberated in Riyadh. “We have to face some situations with more intelligence; in football sometimes you have to know how to win and not how to play to win. But these things make us stronger for the future”.
We’ll also have to wait and see if another of his predictions comes true. “With all that Barça has had to put up with in recent years, you can’t expect everything to change in a month. The club needs time and I’m sure it will improve and even become the best again”.