Robert Lewandowski has not scored for Barcelona since September 28th. The striker ended this drought with a goal. hat trick He has recovered from a fibrotic tear and will play against Celta tonight at Balaidos. In Flick’s first game as a starter (17 minutes in the league against Elche and 33 minutes in the Champions League against Brugge), the Polish footballer ended the Vigo team’s resistance with a penalty and two headed goals. Until today, the team had been undefeated in eight games and had won five in a row. “I’m very happy to win here. Vigo is always difficult for us. The most important thing is that we won against Real Madrid and lost two points,” the striker celebrated after the win and draw for the white club in Vallecas.
The three goals took Lewandowski to seven league goals, two more than teammate Ferran Torres and level with Julian Álvarez as the second-highest scorer in the Championship after Kylian Mbappé (13). The Polish striker’s recovery, as well as that of Dani Olmo, who returned to the starting lineup on Sunday after overcoming a soleus muscle problem in his left leg, is fundamental for a Barcelona team that has been plagued by injuries early in the season.
Coach Flick’s team had won only three of their past seven games, and most of all, they lost because they were unable to adjust their pressure, giving the impression that they were very weak defensively. Last year, Celta, led by Giraldes, were one of the teams that did the most damage by sending players from the second row and using quick transitions to beat the offside trap. In Barcelona, the Olympic team took a 1-3 lead with three excellent counter-attacks, but the Blaugrana managed to turn things around with Rafinha’s penalty in stoppage time (4-3).
Giraldes’ charming side managed to punish the backs of the Barça defense tonight, but Barça were far more intense and tense than in previous games, suffocating the release of the ball and the transitions of their rivals. Sergio Carreira started in his own half and, together with Borja Iglesias, built a formidable wall before beating Szczesny 1-1, but the light blue players were unable to break down Barça’s defense with the same ease by the 45th minute of the second half. “In the first half, Celta played very well, made a couple more passes and scored, avoiding offside,” explained the Polish player.
In the press conference, Flick celebrated the victory and said that he was really happy with the image that Barça left before the international break: “I’m very happy. I’m really grateful for what we saw today. In the first half we made more mistakes than in the second, but it was a very good game with good ball control. The second half gives us confidence for the next game, which was what we needed.”
Lewandowski achieved his goal hat trick He converted Rashford’s corner kick with a brilliant header in the 74th minute, and also spoke of the progress his team had made in the second half: “We had more control of the game, but Celta scored easily in the first half. At half-time we asked ourselves what we could do better, what we could do better. We talked about how we can play better if we do. The fourth goal was also very important to play calmly and patiently. Now we can go to the national team and come back with a different motivation. “Now is the perfect time to change what hasn’t changed and is working well. ”
The player said that after scoring the third goal, coach Flick asked him if he wanted to rest, but he said it was fine and he wanted to play for 90 minutes. Lewandowski today made his first full appearance for Barça since he missed a penalty in the defeat against Sevilla at the Sánchez Pizjuán on October 5. A month later, the Poles finally found the door. “After the injury, we saw a different Robert Lewandowski. He’s very positive. It’s very good for his confidence and for us that he scored three goals,” praised Flick.
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