Vintage season beckons for Lewandowski as he brings the 100 up for Barcelona

Amidst the congratulations and back slapping for another job well done by Hansi Flick’s brilliant Barcelona side, this time against Girona, Robert Lewandowski bringing up a century of appearances for the club in all competitions perhaps didn’t get the fanfare it deserved.

The Polish international has had his doubters of late, though 63 goals in 100 appearances tells its own story.

Now that he has a manager in Flick that truly understands the way that he works, this could be another vintage season for the marksman.

With four goals already this season he is top of the scoring charts, but goals have been sprinkled liberally across the attack in 24/25.

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That alone affords Lewy the opportunity to stick with what he’s best at - playing on the shoulder of the last defender and being ready to gobble up chances in an instant.

On multiple occasions last season we saw him dropping deeper to try and help craft a chance or two, which would then leave gaps up front that he was unable to fill because of his one real weakness - a lack of pace.

Given his age, motoring along will have long ceased to be a feature, though that was never really his game in any event.

This season he has others to do that foraging for him, and if Flick is true to his modus operandi he’ll keep the striker at the apex of the front line to provide the focal point.

Superior movement allied to an appreciation of his team-mates’ way of working and an ability to instinctively understand where to be and when to be there marks Lewandowski out as one of the greatest marksmen of his generation.

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He might be edging towards the end of a brilliant career, but the major facets of his game still haven’t deserted him.

Indeed, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have a better goals to games average, with Lewy still playing in a major European league unlike the aforementioned pair.

Ronaldo’s figures can be massaged for example, because of the simple fact that he’s playing in the 68th best league in the world (according to Team Form), which is a joke quite frankly.

Lewandowski might not be at the peak of his powers any longer, but Hansi Flick will know how to get the very best out of him over the coming weeks and months.

Don’t be at all surprised if he wins a second Pichichi award in three years this season, with his goals vital to Barcelona’s title hopes.