Lewandowski talks Lamine, Rashford, injuries, future ahead of Club Brugge vs Barcelona | OneFootball

FC Barcelona landed in Belgium today as they get set to take on Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

After bouncing back to winning ways since their El Clasico defeat – securing victories over Olympiacos and Elche – the Blaugrana will be eager to carry that momentum forward.

Having done their final training session before the game at Ciutat Esportiva, the Catalans flew to Bruges, where Hansi Flick and Robert Lewandowski appeared in front of the media for the pre-match press conference.

The veteran striker opened things up, discussing his fitness – having returned from an injury only this past weekend – as well as his future at Barcelona.

“I feel good after the injury, physically I feel very good. I already played with the team three days ago, and for me, the most important thing is how I can help the team win,” said Lewandowski.

On the matter of his future, given his contract at Barça expires in 2026, he added: “Regarding my future, I’m calm, it’s not the important moment, there are important things now, the team and my national team. I’m focused on doing my best to win matches and titles.“

The past few months have been difficult for Lewandowski, with regard to fitness problems, but the 37-year-old insisted that his physical issues were behind him.

“At the end of the season, I had some problems, but now I’m fine. When you have a lot of games in a season, it’s important to be at your best at the end. I’ve had two injuries, but I’ve been working really well in the last two weeks, and now I’m at a high level,” he said.

“If we play as a team, we’re dangerous and we can win titles. From my experience, I’m calm, and I know I can help the team.”

Lewandowski’s contract expires in 2026. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

When further quizzed about his future and what could be the ultimate deciding factor, Lewandowski downplayed the situation, saying:

“First, I’m not in a hurry. In the end, the most important thing will be how I feel once the season is over. I’ll have to see what to do with my life, but right now I’m focused on scoring goals and winning titles with the team.” 

The Poland captain discussed the recovery plan he has followed to pull through the fitness issues, while also having to cope with reduced game-time this season.

“I’ve lost a lot of playing time this season, and going with the national team helped me a lot. The plan I’ve followed has been special for me,” explained Lewandowski.

“With the experience of the coaches, they’ve told me what the best work is for me, and I’m very happy with the work done. I feel very good, and I hope to be able to play at a high level until the end of the season.

“It doesn’t matter how you start the season, but how you finish it.” 

On being asked if he had any advice to pass on to his teammate and teenage wonderkid Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski replied:

“I’ve been talking to him for a long time, but what I can say now is that I don’t talk about Lamine. He needs calm; I talk about myself.” 

Regarding his other attacking partner, Marcus Rashford, who is enjoying a productive start to his debut season with Barça, Lewandowski insisted that the Englishman can get even better.

“I already saw him at United, he had great potential. We’ve been talking since day one, and I think he’s a player who can help us a lot. He’s playing well, and I think we can still play better. The more stability we have, the stronger we’ll be with Marcus,” he said.

Lewandowski ended the last season with a tally of 42 goals from 52 matches. So far this term, he has only four goals in ten games and has found his role getting reduced in Flick’s setup.

So, when asked if he felt capable of reproducing the last campaign’s numbers once more, he replied:

“If we’re talking numbers, I don’t know if I can do the same because I’ve missed a lot of games due to injuries, but when I’m on the pitch, the average minutes and goals might be similar.

“At my age, I know I can’t play as much as before, but I’m doing well. I’m training at a very high level; if we play as a team, it’s very easy for strikers. If we work hard, the results will come.” 

Lewandowski not thinking about his future at the moment. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Qatar Airways)

Barcelona have not been at the same level as they were last season, with Lewandowski chalking down the dip as a result of the injury issues.

“Generally, it’s a bit like what the manager said, that there’s a lack of stability with the players, that we’ve had injuries. Last year, we were playing at our best, and repeating that this season isn’t easy,” the striker remarked.

“It’s not easy, now it starts from scratch, but we’re eager, we want to win matches, and sometimes it doesn’t matter how, but we have to win matches. In the end, I’m sure we’ll be back to our best and we’ll win convincingly. If we play strong, we can win titles.”

Discussing how Barcelona must approach the away game against Club Brugge tomorrow, Lewandowski explained:

“For us, every point is very important, just as we saw last season, when some teams had a lot of trouble reaching the next round. Tomorrow, our only focus is on how we can win this match.

“We might be missing something, but the best thing that can happen at the end of the game is that we’ve won. It won’t be an easy match against Club Brugge, but if we come back with the three points, that’s the best outcome.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo