Robert Lewandowski could be Barcelona's best signing since Luis Suarez

Paul Macdonald

• 29 Aug 2022 12:45 BST
• 3 min read

Robert Lewandowski has already eliminated some of the doubt around what he would be capable of in La Liga, and he could yet prove to be Barcelona's best piece of transfer business in years.

Lewandowski utterly dominated Valladolid on Sunday night as Barca cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Lewy scored two, but he could quite easily have had four goals; his glancing header in the first 10 minutes rebounded back off the post, while late on his instinctive shot was tipped onto the crossbar, allowing Sergi Roberto to slot home.

Between those he scored a typical Lewandowski goal, drifting in at the back post to convert from close range, before a cheeky back heel rolled into the far corner.

That's four goals in his last two games for the Pole, and after the false start on opening day against Rayo, he appears more comfortable in his surroundings and, crucially, his team-mates seem better at finding him.

Robert Lewandowski already looks unstoppable for Barcelona! 🔥

A beautiful reverse assist from Dembele and Barca's new No. 9 sees his backheel nestle in the corner with the help of a deflection 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/txTXGrGH84

— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) August 28, 2022

Lewandowski has recorded 2.1 non-penalty xG so far in his three matches, easily the highest in La Liga so far. Only Karim Benzema has had more shots, and more shots on target. The sample size is small but the early days are massively encouraging.

Barcelona haven't had a centre-forward who operates solely in these areas since peak Luis Suarez, and that's over three years ago now. Lewy fits into the places where no-one else has gone.

And there's other elements at play, too. Ousmane Dembele will still make bad decisions, that's part of who he is. But if you're willing to accept those in exchange for the moments of brilliance he can produce, it's a fair trade off.

Raphinha will find Lewy on the regular, just as he did with his searching back-post cross for the opening goal. And there's still Ansu Fati - who linked so well with him last week - and Ferran Torres for backup. It's a good situation.

The only concern - and it is a big concern - is that the system is absolutely designed for his preferences. Lewandowski is rarely injured and indeed looks fitter than ever, but if he were to be missing for any period of time, the replacements just don't fit the criteria.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks likely to be sold to Chelsea, Memphis Depay may follow him, while Martin Braithwaite just can't do what Lewy can. So while Barca have plenty of options, an alternative in that position doesn't seem to exist.

But for while he is fit and available, Barca will be a dangerous attacking proposition, and that's something that hasn't always been the case after Lionel Messi departed.