Barcelona are going through a great form, as the Catalan club stand atop of the league standings and have reached the last eight of the UEFA Champions League after securing a massive 8-3 win against New Castle on aggregate.
Robert Lewandowski opens up on not taking penalties
Currently, club's striker, Robert Lewandowski has opened up on taking back seat in the role of taking penalties because of lack of confidence which happened because of his reduced game time this season.
In the recent games, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have stepped up to take the penalty kicks for the Spanish giants. Yamal took both of the penalties in two legs against Newcastle, fortunately he converted all of them.
In the illustrious career of Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker has managed to convert 89 penalties in 101 attempts. The former Bayern Munich has a success rate of 88 percent.
In the ongoing season, the polish striker has missed two penalties against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
Recently, Robert Lewandowski was questioned regarding his reduced role in taking penalties, to which he said:
"When a player sometimes plays and sometimes doesn’t, there’s a lack of confidence in key moments because you don’t feel the pitch, you’ve just come on, or you haven’t played in the last two or three games . Sometimes there’s a moment of hesitation. We make these decisions on the pitch. We have people who are good at taking penalties. I’m always ready, but there are times when you’ve spent less time on the pitch, you lack the feel and rhythm."
He added:
“In those moments, it’s better to prioritize the team’s best interests, and someone who feels more confident in a given match takes the penalties. This wasn’t due to missed penalties, but to my situation and the minutes I spent on the pitch.”
Robert Lewandowski's mixed season at Barcelona
In 24 LaLiga games, Robert Lewandowski managed to amass only 11 goals and 2 assists, which is really subpar as per his standards. Meanwhile in the ongoing UCL campaign, the Polish striker has managed to score four goals in nine appearances.