FC Barcelona are now six points adrift of LALIGA log-leaders Girona and a target is said to be on manager Xavi Hernandez's back amid a notable drop in form. But, how much of that is down to the fact that striker Robert Lewandowski has only scored three league goals since September 2023?
There's mounting pressure for Xavi to get his side back on a good run form to defend their LALIGA title from this season's contenders Real Madrid and Girona, with the latter being the surprise package in Spanish football this term.
Barca won the league title by a massive 10-point margin last time out, however, this season they have already conceded more goals (24) than the entirety of the championship-winning 2022/23 campaign (20).
Lewandowski's performance so far have been a stark contrast to his displays last season, where he won the Pichichi Trophy (Spanish Golden Boot award) after scoring 23 goals in 34 LALIGA appearances. The Poland international has evidently been way off the pace in the current campaign, as he has only scored in two of his last 12 LALIGA outings, according to Transfermarkt.
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Should Barca be concerned?
Arguably the most high-profile striker in the league, Lewandowski joined Barca in July 2022 after netting a prolific 344 goals in 375 appearances for Bayern Munich and becoming the Bavarian giants' second-highest-scoring player in history. His reputation as a world-class striker preceded him upon his arrival at the Camp Nou, as he would go on to spearhead the Catalan giants to their first league title since 2018/19.
Fast forward to this season, the 35-year-old has been a shadow of himself, raising questions about whether his seeming decline is down to his age. In August 2023, he openly criticised Xavi style of play, complaining about a lack of support. "Sometimes we don't play enough attacking players, I don't have support... so I look for the best solution for the team," he said, according to Be Soccer.
However, these comments now point to an underlying problem that the player seems to have. According to The Athletic, one of the reasons Lewandowski left Bayern was due to his unwillingness to drop deeper to join in attacks, prompting then manager Julian Nagelsmann to push for his sale. This is thought to have led to problems between the two, with the marksman said to believe he was no longer made a focal point go forward.
Now in the twilight of his career, it's no surprise that managers no longer base their entire system around their centre-forward, especially one that looks uncomfortable dropping to deeper positions to link up play. Lewandowski has struggled to adjust his game for the benefit of the team and has instead shown a reluctance to do so - something that was spotted by Nagelsmann a lot earlier.
Given that he is Barca's second-highest earner with a reported salary of €500 768 (R10.4 million) per week, there are serious expectations for him to deliver on a consistent level. The Blaugrana are in financial turmoil, and therefore cannot afford to have experienced high-earners failing to justify their massive salaries. Brazilian teenager Vitor Roque has been brought in to supplement the attack and the aging Lewandowski now needs to be careful of rightfully losing his place in the team.
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