Robert Lewandowski praises Barcelona youngsters after comeback win at Valencia
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring their second goal with Raphinha in the 2-1 Spanish La Liga win over Valencia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
VALENCIA – Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said he was proud of his team’s performance in a 2-1 comeback win at Valencia in their Spanish La Liga season opener on Aug 17, lavishing praise on his side’s youngsters who started in place of several injured players.
With Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong all out, new manager Hansi Flick gave 20-year-old academy midfielder Marc Casado his senior debut, playing alongside three 17-year-olds in Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal.
Nevertheless, Barca showed enough strength to fight back and win, thanks to a Lewandowski brace.
“It was very important to start with a win in such a difficult stadium and with the problems we faced,” the 35-year-old Pole told Movistar Plus.
“We didn’t play well for the first 20 to 25 minutes. In the first half we had problems to get close to their box but then we started playing much better and we did it with three or four very young players.
“If you can win like this with such young players, it is something special and they have shown big potential. No signs of the lack of experience, they played very well with possession and without the ball. We could have won by a larger margin, but it’s great to start the season with a win.”
Hugo Duro sent the hosts ahead after 44 minutes, but veteran striker Lewandowski levelled from close range before the break and netted a penalty early in the second half.
Barcelona’s summer signing Dani Olmo is not yet registered to play and Flick said the playmaker still needs to get up to speed in terms of fitness.
The former Bayern Munich boss was happier with his team’s second-half display than the first.
“The second half was much better than the first half (where) we made a lot of mistakes,” the German said. “We came back at the end of the first half and in the second half, we did much better.”
Yamal, whose father was stabbed earlier this week in a violent attack but is in a stable condition, was applauded by some Valencia fans after being substituted, for his impressive performances with Spain as they won Euro 2024 in July.
“Lamine is a great player and I think everyone loves to see him playing football... I think you can say all the world likes to see him play,” added Flick. REUTERS, AFP
