Author of a double during Barça’s big victory in Belgrade (2-5), Robert Lewandowski came one step closer to the 100 goal mark in the Champions League. His coach Hansi Flick ignored him when replacing him.
Robert Lewandowski (36 years old) would have continued the match longer on Wednesday during FC Barcelona’s big victory on the pitch of Red Star Belgrade (2-5). The Pole was replaced in the 79th minute by the young Pau Victor (22 years old) after scoring a double (43rd, 53rd) which brought him a small unit closer to the mythical mark of 100 goals in the Champions League. He would have taken advantage of the last quarter of an hour to reach it on Wednesday… except that his trainer Hansi Flick was not aware of the countdown.
“If I had known before, I might not have replaced him.”
“If I had known it before, I perhaps would not have replaced him,” the German declared at a press conference after the meeting. “It’s my fault but we also have to think about the next game. Today he scored two important goals, including the first to put us 2-1 up. He was very important for us.”
With 99 goals, Lewandowski is third among the top scorers in the history of the competition behind the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (141 goals) and the Argentinian Lionel Messi (129). He is ahead of the French Karim Benzema (90) and the Spaniard Raul (71). The former Lech Poznan striker has scored 17 times for Borussia in C1, 69 times with Bayern and 13 times with Barça, whom he joined in 2022.
This season, he has at least four matches left in the competition to become the third “centenary”: against Brest (November 26), at Dortmund (December 11), on the Benfica field (January 21, 2025), then against Atalanta Bergamo (January 29, 2025). The Pole has had a remarkable start to the season with Barça with 19 goals in 16 matches in all competitions. He tops the scoring charts in La Liga (14) and the Champions League (5, like Raphinha, Harry Kane and Viktor Gyökeres).
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