Barcelona forward critical of his national team’s playing style following latest defeat

Despite being 36 years of age, Robert Lewandowski is once again proving himself to be a truly elite footballer in Europe with the amazing start to the 2024-25 season he is having with FC Barcelona.

The veteran striker has already scored more than half the goals he scored in the entire 2023-24 La Liga season, with 10 goals in 9 league appearances this season, while last year he had 19 goals in 35 appearances.

While he has left little doubt about his quality with his performances for Barcelona, he is not exactly shining to the same degree with his Polish national side.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the striker himself highlighted the reason for this lack of performance with his national side as he spoke to the media following Poland’s 1-3 defeat at the hands of Portugal in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday night.

The Pole clearly wanted his team to get him the ball higher up the pitch, as he commented: “I’m not a midfielder, and it’s not my job to drop back to the defensive line to receive the ball in my own half… Maybe I could do that in training.”

“During the match, I need to be closer to the box and wait there for crosses, passes, and balls until something happens. This is something we need to improve or change. Not just against Portugal, but in general, it doesn’t seem like we often have the ball near the opponent’s box, and the role of the striker is to try to make something happen there.”

Lewandowski certainly has reason to be frustrated with his national teammates, as statistics reveal that he receives far less support with Poland than he does at Barcelona.

With the Blaugranes, the Pole averages 63% more touches in the opposition box than he does with Poland. Similarly, his average of 3.94 shots in each match this season with Barcelona is also significantly higher than the 2.33 shots that he manages with Poland.