Partly because of suspension, partly because of bad form, but Robert Lewandowski scored only one goal in the Spanish Primera in the last two and a half months. Despite this, the Pole welcomes the derby of the 21st round with Villarreal at La Ceramica as by far the best scorer in that competition.Since arriving at Camp Nou last summer, the 34-year-old forward immediately established himself as the team’s leader. He shook the nets of Sociedad, Valladolid, Elche and Villarreal twice each, Sevilla, Cadiz, Mallorca, Bilbao, Valencia and recently Betis once each. All in all, 14 goals in the championship, enough to surpass Espanyol’s Joselu (11) or Celta’s Iago Aspas, Karim Benzema and Borja Iglesias (nine each) on the list of scorers.🔥 M A T C H D A Y 🔥#VillarrealBarça pic.twitter.com/Hsr1RhHiPS— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 12, 2023 However, Lewandowski fell out of goal-scoring rhythm before the World Cup in Qatar, and was additionally disturbed by the three-round suspension. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Pole was dissatisfied after the game with Sevilla (3-0) last weekend, despite his team’s convincing triumph. He simply did not manage to overcome Bounou, which bothers a man of his ambitions.Only the second time La Ceramica will host Lewandowski. The first time in Villarreal, the Pole did not have a good time, with Bayern, he was defeated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League 1-0. Later, in the rematch in Munich, he was the scorer, but the match ended 1-1, so the Spaniards qualified further.Lewandowski had some sort of satisfaction in October last year, after scoring twice at Camp Nou in Barcelona’s 3-0 win (Ansu Fati scored the third). Nevertheless, the bitterness of that defeat will return for the experienced footballer, at least for a short time, when he steps on the field in the “royal village”.First victim of Barca’s atrocious financial crisis could be former Chelsea’s centre-backBarcelona are in phenomenal form, winning their last 10 games in all competitions, so Lewandowski’s inefficiency was not felt. The Catalans have not lost a single match in Primera since El Clasico in mid-October, and are now convincingly first in the standings with eight points more than second-placed Real Madrid.On the other hand, Villarreal suffered two defeats in the championship, to Rayo Vallecano (1-0) and Elche (3-1), so now they have slumped a bit in the fight for fourth place and placement in the Champions League. They are four points behind Atletico Madrid, and in front of the Yellow Submarine are also Betis, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.What a game we have for you tonight! 🔥🟡🟡 @VillarrealCFen 🆚 @FCBarcelona 🔵🔴#LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/Jil8PUKW4u— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) February 12, 2023 LA LIGA – Matchday 21FridayCadiz – Girona 2-0 (2-0)/Escalante 6, Guardiola 34/SaturdayAlmeria – Betis 2-3 (1-2)/Suarez 27, Costa 62 – Rodri 6, Canales 42, Guardado 70/Sevilla – Mallorca 2-0 (2-0)/En Nesyri 28, Gil 40/Valencia – Ath.Bilbao 1-2 (1-1)/Castillejo 17 – Williams 30, Sancet 72/SundayGetafe – Rayo Vallecano 0-1 (0-1) IN PROGRESS/Arambarri 38 og/18.15: (3.50) Celta (3.00) Atl.Madrid (2.30)20.30: (2.90) Valladolid (2.85) Osasuna (2.80)23.00: (4.60) Villareal (3.70) Barcelona (1.85)Monday23.00: (3.45) Espanyol (3.05) Sociedad (2.45)Wednesday23.00: (1.18) Real Madrid (8.00) Elche (19.0)***odds are subject to change
