Robert Lewandowski continues to be the face of Barcelona in the post-Lionel Messi era. The Pole striker has been the club’s most prominent signing since the Argentine star left, and he already helped the Catalans get back to glory days in LaLiga.
However, his numbers took a slight decline this term. While seven goals and three assists are not bad at all, Lewy already had 13 goals and four assists by this point last season. But the former Bayern Munich star believes that his slow start had to do with a lack of opportunities created by his teammates.
“I know that we are Barcelona and everyone expects us, not only to win, but also to score a lot of goals. At the beginning of the season, not everything has been perfect and, of course, if we don’t create a lot of chances, it’s difficult to score goals,” Lewandowski told Marca.
Lewandowski already complained about scoring chances this season
When things were not going to plan at the beginning, Lewandowski voiced his frustration for not having so many scoring opportunities. In fact, he publicly called on Xavi Hernandez to use more forwards.
“We are Barcelona and we are expected not only to win, but to play good attacking football,” Lewandowski told Eleven Sports in August. “Lately that hasn’t been as it should be, so we’ve been struggling to create more chances in games. When we introduce Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati, two players who go forward, we create more chances. Sometimes we don’t play enough attacking players and I don’t have support, so I look for the best solution for the team”.
Barcelona haven’t scored more than two goals since September, when they pulled off a 3-2 comeback win over Celta with a brace from Lewy. Either way, the team has been getting good results as of late, qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 while it challenges for the LaLiga top spot.
Lewandowski speaks highly of Barca prospects
Lewandowski may want his team to be more ruthless with the ball, but that has nothing to do with his thoughts of his teammates. The Pole superstar is impressed by the club’s youngsters who are already playing an important role in the first team.
“Lamine, Fermín and Balde? They have an incredible talent and, of course, they now feel that they are part of the club and the team. You have to find a good balance between protecting them and playing them, because it’s not easy for them, since we are talking about playing in Barcelona,” he said.
