Now at FC Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski is clearly one of the biggest names in European football at the moment. He has proven pedigree as a goalscorer, which he showcased during his time at Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and also with Barcelona during the last season.
This season, he is also one of the main references in attack for Xavi’s team and one of the leaders on and off the pitch. However, the Pole is undergoing a joint-worst start to a season.
Currently, Lewandowski is on a long, barren run, as he has been unable to score a goal in his last six games and has not scored even one goal since September 23, when he scored a brace against Celta Vigo.
Barcelona doing well without Lewandowski
Normally, the poor form of the leading striker would be a cause of serious concern for any team. However, SPORT claims that Barcelona are not too reliant on him for attacking output, and the club has also performed even better in some instances when the Pole was not on the pitch.
In this season, the Pole has missed three games due to injury, but he was not missed too much by the team. Xavi’s men drew against Granada with a 2-2 scoreline and goals from Lamine Yamal and Sergi Roberto. They also won the matches against Athletic Club and Shakhtar Donetsk with goals from Marc Guiu, Ferran Torres, and Fermin Lopez.
Poor form with the Pole on the pitch
Lewandowski returned from injury against Real Madrid, and it was only when he got on the pitch that the Whites scored the two goals that gave them the victory in the match. Similarly, against Porto and Real Sociedad, the team scored the winning goals only after Lewandowski had already left the pitch.
His 23 goals were key to Barcelona’s winning of La Liga last season, but in that season, too, the Cules did not miss him too much when he was unavailable. The Catalans played seven games without the Pole and won all of them.
Thus, there have definitely been doubts about Lewandowski’s utility to the team, especially when he is not fully fit. Ferran Torres has performed well whenever given the chance, and even Marc Guiu impressed when he had time on the pitch against Athletic Club.
