– It seemed that after FC Barcelona played with great intensity in the first half, Atletico would have no chance. But in the second part we had another show of ineffectiveness by the Catalans this season. The old saying goes that missed opportunities take revenge and they took their revenge very hard on Barcelona. Atletico unexpectedly won 2-1 and became the new leader of La Liga – reported by Sport.pl journalist Marcin Jaz.
Lewandowski says it straight. “I believe”
It was another unsuccessful match for Robert Lewandowski, who was unable to score a goal in the last three matches. This time it was not changed. He played the entire match. After the final whistle, he appeared in front of the Eleven Sports cameras and answered questions from Mateusz Święcicki, the match's commentator. He revealed, among other things, what he believed was the reason for the failure.
– I think a few factors. Apart from the fact that we made mistakes where Atletico countered us – we created chances, but we didn't take advantage of them. I think that in the last – I don't know if weeks – but maybe there was a lack of self-confidence and calmness in the penalty area in these situations, so I think that this round is a lesson for us: sometimes if you can't win, don't lose the match – diagnosed.
– I believe that in the new year we will come back stronger and play even better football – added Lewandowski.
He also commented on which Barcelona face is the real one – the one from the spectacular El Clasico win, or the one from the end of the round. – It's hard to compare – we know it's a long round. We had some turmoil and even with a young team such leaps in form sometimes happen. Just like today: we played a good match and lost. This is definitely a lesson for us, he said.
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– You can feel good, you can play good football, you can look good on the pitch, but there was something missing and that was the reason why we didn't win this match – he said.
– At a certain age – playing every three days – there is no time for celebration. After the match you have to prepare for the next one. When I compare myself now with the previous dozen or so years, I know that I also learned this. Some victory was left in my mind, and I had to play after 2-3 days. Sometimes this concentration was lacking. I think overall we have created a lot of chances in the last few days and in the last games. Me too, in the last 2-3 matches… I lacked such calmness in the penalty area, such self-confidence – he admitted.
– For us, such a Christmas and New Year's break, considering that the end of the year was not great and we lost points, may mean that we will draw conclusions in the second round and not make the same mistakes that we made in the first round. This is football. Sometimes there are such phases and you have to go through them. I believe that we will manage and get back on track, he concluded.
After 19 games played, FC Barcelona is in 2nd place in the league table. He has 38 points. This is three fewer than Atletico Madrid, which has one fewer match to play, and a point more than Real Madrid, which has two fewer matches played than Barcelona.
FC Barcelona's next match will take place in the new year. On January 4, 2025, he will play in the 1/16 final of the King's Cup against Barbastro.