BarcelonaRobert Lewandowski is 35 years old as of this very Monday, and has started the season in the eye of the hurricane for his performance as a Barcelona player. Last season he scored 13 goals in his first 14 league games. It is true that in the group stage of the Champions League he did not score either in Munich, despite having good chances, or in Milan. Barca went down early for the second time in a row and someone whispered that the Pole was not decisive in the big games, something he also had to feel over the years at Bayern despite scoring 344 goals in 375 games. In Barcelona, rum-rum was on the rise during the second half of last season. After the World Cup, Lewandowski’s performance plummeted. And in the couple of games this year, he still hasn’t found good feelings.
Barça played against Getafe and Cadiz, two teams that defend with a lot of men in and near their area. This always makes it difficult for the opposing team’s centre-forward to work, and when he doesn’t touch the ball much, he sometimes has the instinct to move away from the centre-backs and drop into the midfield to get more involved in the game. That’s why Xavi said after the match against the Andalusian team that Lewandowski must be patient and not lose his position. It’s not that the Pole can’t score away from the box – in fact, he’s always been a footballer with a great understanding of the game – but right now he can help the team more by performing the functions of a we classic
With the ball at his feet, Lewandowski is lacking technical neatness and, above all, agility. He’s being erratic in moves he’s always mastered, like checks and passes, but basically he’s taking too long to make decisions. It is possible that this is also related to the pace of the game that is usually played in the Spanish league. In any case, right now the Pole can be more productive for the team competing close to the box and combining with teammates at the back to the opposite goal rather than moving away from the area of the we and seeing the football in the face, which is how Pedri and Gündogan should see it, and Lewandowski offering himself as a point of support by fixing centrals and offloading so that they have more time and space.
In relation to the topic of rhythm, Lewandowski has had to adapt to a new football concept. In the Bundesliga, everything usually happens at a higher speed. Bayern, in particular, almost always during the Pole’s stay in Munich, was a team that expressed itself at high revolutions and that was comfortable with frenetic rhythms. The Spanish league is played differently. Football has less continuity and is more leisurely. Lewandowski, who carried the flame and spark of the Bundesliga after 12 seasons in Germany, has been entrusted with a certain parsimony that does not seem beneficial for his game.
Perhaps already 35 years old, and in the Spanish league, Lewandowski will end up orienting his game towards one of his great virtues: the ability to finish inside the area. In this facet, despite the current bad streak, he can still be a prodigious striker. Of course, for the scoring figures to be in line with their category, they will need the support of their teammates in actions such as charging the area or crosses. Lewandowski already has 35, but that shouldn’t exempt him, let alone with his growing contract, from being the team’s top scorer this season as well.
2023-08-22 05:45:30
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