In Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Brest, not only did they move to second in the table during the league phase of the Champions League but their star striker Robert Lewandowski also made history. With his brace en route to his 100th and 101st Champions League goals, Lewandowski joined the company that only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo shared. He has had a legendary career so far and now shares the 100-goal club with only them. Ronaldo leads the way with 140 goals while Messi has 129 before Lewandowski’s 101, so the Polish striker has a long way to go in order to catch either of them, but it’s still impressive what he has done being reunited with Hansi Flick.
Barcelona are atop La Liga and showing that they are Champions League contenders behind Lewandowski’s 22 goals in all competitions. Before the season, Lewandowski spoke about how playing with young players like Lamine Yamal also keeps him young and the impact that Flick has on the attack, and at 36, he’s showing that he still has plenty left in the tank.
“You have to dream always, and I didn’t believe that I could be scoring more than 100 goals in the Champions League and today I am here so I can be proud [of] myself and also for the team,” Lewandowski said to CBS Sports. “I’m very happy with how we’re playing and also how many goals we’re scoring with there being so many young players in the team. Sometimes I feel like a teenager at this club and it makes me stronger.”
That revitalization under Flick can be felt everywhere around Barcelona from Lewandowski to attacking midfielder Raphinha and Dani Olmo back to the defense where their offside traps are doing just enough to make up for the lack of goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who is injured. This is a Barcelona side that no one wants to face in Champions League play because they can score at will and no lead is safe against them. They have five more goals than any other team in the competition and at least seven more than any team in the top eight. That ability is something that could lead to their first Champions League title since 2015 but there’s still work to be done. If they’re going to lift the elusive trophy, it will require more goals from Lewandowski but he has plenty of them to spare at this current scoring rate as they make their statement as contenders.
