He should have been sitting. He played and scored a hat trick. Will it be Pichichi again? Lewandowski only hears praise

The Polish veteran stunned Barcelona on Monday night. The fans applauded enthusiastically, the journalists were vying for praise.

In the second leg of the 33rd round of the Spanish league, Barcelona lost 1:2 at halftime with Valencia. Shortly after the break, Lewandowski equalized and in the end secured the victory with two goals.

The first hat-trick of the season, the second during his two-year engagement in Barcelona.

Finally, a goal from a free kick, that was the fourth, confirming the victory in the setup. He scored the first and second goals with his head after crosses from corners.

“It wasn’t easy,” Lewandowski explained to television cameras on the DAZN platform. “In the first half, the opponent didn’t allow us much, didn’t give us space. But the important thing is that we are Barca and we know that even if we conceded two goals, we can score three or four.”

The Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, which focuses mainly on FC Barcelona, ​​called him Pichichi in euphoria. That’s the unofficial title for La Liga’s top scorer.

Lewandowski has sixteen goals to his credit with five rounds to go, Jude Bellingham from Real Madrid and Alexander Sorloth from Villarreal have scored seventeen, and the best is Artőm Dowbyk from Girona with nineteen goals. table.

In his first season in Spain last year, Lewandowski scored 23 goals, five more than second-placed Karim Benzema of Real Madrid. “And this year he is fighting for the title again, which is not bad. And he also scored his second goal from a free kick and his second hat-trick for Culés,” adds Mundo Deportivo. Culés is the nickname of Barcelona.

At the same time, he was not originally supposed to play at all. Before the match, Spanish media reported that Xavi would leave Lewandowski on the bench. In the end, he apparently changed his mind and put it on from the beginning. “He was on the field, but it was hard to notice him,” commented Polish daily Przeglad Sportowy.

The 35-year-old attacker had the ball eight times in the half, lost it four times, lost his only running battle, and was often on the ground. He waved his hands resignedly toward the referee as he rose.

“He could feel like his friend Slawomir Peszko preparing for an MMA fight. Opponents pushed him as far as possible from the goal, because they knew well what the Pole could do near it. He elbowed one of the defenders. It was hard not to get the impression that for most of the match, the genius footballer’s hands were the limb he used more often,” wrote Przeglad Sportowy.

But after a break it came. With the goal at 2:2, he ran well to the front post and correctly timed his jump to the center. In the second, he reacted the fastest to a rebound that remained in the air after a fight between teammate Araujo and goalkeeper Domenech. The direct kick then curled beautifully over the wall.

“Even when he was not doing well, he remained fully focused and motivated. He showed that nothing is impossible for him,” the Polish daily wrote.

Lewandowski hit after six games – not scoring in the Champions League quarter-final against Paris. St. Germain, nor in both duels for the national team in the tie for the Euro against Estonia and Wales, nor in the league against Las Palmas and Real Madrid. Only in Valencia did he perform brilliantly.

“It was a special evening for him, he really achieved a lot,” emphasized the Polish daily.

By the way, Lewandowski achieved his first hat-trick for Barcelona in autumn 2022 in the Champions League against Pilsen.

He is the first Polish footballer since 1990 to score three goals in one game for a Spanish club. That time Jan Urban did it for Osasuna Pamplona at Real Madrid, the guests won 4:0.