One of the great names in the history of Polish football, Grzegorz Lato, did not hesitate to be quite critical of FC Barcelona's forward, Robert Lewandowski, after the Polish national team's 1-0 defeat to Croatia in a match corresponding to Matchday 2 of Group A of the Nations League 24/25. The game was decided by a superb goal from Luka Modrić in the 52nd minute, who took advantage of a direct free-kick from the edge of the box to send the ball into the net with a great right-footed strike that sailed over the wall and nestled near the top right corner of the goal defended by Łukasz Skorupski.
Now, Lato, during his appearance on the Polish television channel 'Polsat Sport,' questioned 'Lewy's' leadership role on the field. He began by saying, "The team leader should lead by example. If the game is going wrong, he should even stop at some point and shout at his friends, using harsh words."
Following this, the Olympic medalist in Munich 1972 and top scorer of the 1974 World Cup praised the young Polish midfielder, Nicola Zalewski, while discussing Lewandowski's almost testimonial role in the match. "I really like Zalewski. Even in the game against Croatia, he fought and ran as hard as he could, something I can't say about other players. Including the best ones. Pointing fingers and ordering to play here or there is not enough. After 20 minutes of play, I even started to wonder if Robert Lewandowski was on the field," he concluded.
Lewandowski was instrumental against Scotland
It was definitely a strong criticism against Robert Lewandowski who, in the first match of this September FIFA break, valid for Matchday 1 of Group A of the Nations League against Scotland, proved to be decisive. In that 3-2 victory, the Warsaw native assisted in the first goal and scored the second, further cementing his legacy as Poland's top scorer with 84 goals in 154 appearances.
In that match, he was substituted off as a precaution due to a minor injury, with the fear that it could worsen, which fortunately did not happen, especially for FC Barcelona, who cannot afford to lose their '9' who is in great form. Currently, he has scored four goals in four matches in LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25, a streak that he will look to extend against Girona next Sunday, September 15. Will he achieve it? We will find out soon.