‘Lacked a bit of calmness’… Barcelona ace confesses his struggles to score in recent games | OneFootball

The kind of form that FC Barcelona is currently going through is simply disastrous. Despite having been the league leaders in La Liga at one point, La Blaugrana have now completely blown their lead. For Barcelona, such a poor collapse was something that was considered to be completely unthinkable.

Yet, the reality is that the matches that they have lost or dropped points in have been their own doing. Despite controlling games and dominating proceedings, the Catalan giants have been unable to convert their chances and it has allowed their opponents to capitalize when it mattered.

One key reason behind this is the poor finishing from the Barcelona forwards, and especially Robert Lewandowski. Despite being the leading top scorer in La Liga, the Polish ace has been struggling quite a lot in recent games and it has been clear to see that the team’s dependency on him to covert his chances is not paying off any longer.

In response to this poor run of form, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, Lewandowski recently spoke out and confessed that he has indeed been struggling in front of goal and suggested that it is possibly a mental issue for him as well on a personal level:

“In the last two or three matches, we’ve had great chances that we’ve missed. I’ve personally felt that I’ve lacked a bit of calmness in the box and maybe confidence in myself.”

This clearly shows that the player is self-aware, and understands that he needs to improve these things. Barcelona already expects him to respond positively after this recent slump, and it seems like he knows that too. As for the game against Atletico Madrid itself, the Polish ace confessed that he understands why the team is even more frustrated than usual:

“I think the team is even more frustrated because we played very well in the first half. We were solid, and even in the second half, we were good, but due to our own mistakes, Atlético created chances and scored twice.”

However, for the former Bayern Munich player, this was a game that the team should have at least taken a draw out of if they could not win it at the end:

“In the final minutes, we played as if it were a final we were losing, and we felt we had to score at all costs. Sometimes, you need to understand that if you can’t win, you definitely shouldn’t lose the game… Sometimes, if you can’t win, at least you shouldn’t lose the game. This has happened to us multiple times this season. I think next year we’ll come back stronger and play better football.”

Moreover, while Lewandowski acknowledges that the team played well against their opponents from Madrid, finishing chances is what he believes is the most important thing that the team has not been doing well in recent matches.

“We played good football, but it doesn’t matter how you play if you don’t capitalize on your opportunities. It becomes harder to score later. You might look impressive, but without that final touch, you won’t win, and that explains this defeat.”

While it is true that the player has been struggling to score in recent matches, and has been criticized for it as well, his quality remains undeniable. At his best, he was essential for Barcelona at the start of this season, but he just needs to find that best version of himself again.