It’s always better to play but “more important games are coming”, says striker
Robert Lewandowski is happy with a lighter workload that will involve him coming off the bench in some games, because it will keep him fresher for when the important games of the season roll around.
The Poland international has started only one of Barcelona’s six league games so far, coming off the bench in four of them and missing one entirely. He came off the bench again on Thursday night to help Barcelona overturn a first-half deficit and beat Real Oviedo 3-1.
“We have so many games and the season is very long,” said Lewandowski. “At the end of preseason I got injured, I was out for three weeks, but later I still felt that I couldn’t do everything 100 per cent.
“Now I feel good physically. You have to be patient sometimes. Of course, for strikers it’s always better to play, but we have to be patient and think there are more games coming, more important games coming.
“We know that last season there were parts where we didn’t play well. I don’t want to say we were tired, but not so fresh. So we have to know being more fresh for the future means we have more opportunities to be a better team.”
Oviedo took a 1-0 lead in the first half after Alberto Reina pounced on a mistake from goalkeeper Joan Garcia and lobbed in from distance. But Hansi Flick’s side responded strongly in the second half, with Eric Garcia equalising before Lewandowski scored an excellent header to give Barcelona the lead.
He said he didn’t fully see the Oviedo goal when Frenkie de Jong’s cross came in from the right.
“I didn’t yet see the goal because when you’re on the pitch, you’re focused on your job,” said Lewandowski.
“I saw the corner or left side of post, I don’t want to say empty, but if I put the ball there I thought it’s possible. The cross is amazing and I know the space is there.
“It was a very important goal. I knew if I came on I had to do something, try and score the goal.”
