Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez likened his Polish international scorer Robert Lewandowski to the former Argentine star of the team, Lionel Messi, with Lewandowski returning to the Catalan team after recovering from injury.
Lewandowski tops the La Liga scorer list this season with 15 goals, but he missed Barcelona’s last two matches due to injury.
But Lewandowski returned to Barcelona’s list during his confrontation with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Xavi said on Saturday in a press conference: Robert has been training with the players since Thursday, after a break for several days, and he is ready. He is in good shape and always wants to play.
He added: We are really happy to have him here with us, I compare him to players like Ronaldinho and Messi, he changed the mentality of the team, he is our captain and all our players are maturing with him.
He pointed out: We won in his absence, but we missed him, we attack better in the presence of Lewandowski, he presses hard in the attack, he is a decisive player for us.
Barcelona misses Pedri and Osman Dembele’s efforts due to injury against Bilbao, and Ronald Araujo is suspended.
Eric Garcia could be involved from the start in Barcelona’s defensive line on Sunday.
Xavi praised Garcia by saying: He is a great professional, he does not participate in the image he deserves, but he faces competition in a big club like Barcelona.
He concluded by saying: He is a player for the present and the future, I count on him, he always plays well when he is on the field, he is a role model in the locker room.
