Leszek Orlowski for Wprost: Match with Real Madrid is the best opportunity for Lewandowski to overcome the crisis

On Sunday, March 19, Barcelona will play against Real Madrid in the match of the 26th round of La Liga. This match will be especially important for the Polish fans as it will feature the captain of the national team, Robert Lewandowski, who is not in the shape he is known for. Leszek Orlowski, an expert on Spanish football, commented on this topic.

Dariusz Tuzimek, Wprost: Isn’t it ironic that Barcelona do indeed lead the Spanish league with a significant nine-point lead over Real Madrid, but the team from Madrid makes a better impression, especially in their Champions League performance. Only that the Royals are chimerical in La Liga, they make costly misses, they can lose to opponents with much lower ratings.

This is how this season in the Spanish Championship looks like, and it is difficult to rationally explain such a situation. Barcelona lose points, win matches by one goal, often play not very productive football. And Real Madrid can play exciting matches on European grounds, like a cosmic 5-2 away win over Liverpool, but it can be uneven in the league. Before Sunday’s El Clasico, it’s safe to say that the game that Barça are now playing does not fit into the Champions League, but the level of the Spanish league has fallen significantly in recent years – as evidenced by the results of local teams in the cups – so in the courtyard teams from Catalonia are somehow doing well.

On the other hand, Real Madrid’s problems are related to the fact that it has a rather narrow squad, and its strength is largely determined by older players. They need more rest, manager Carlo Ancelotti needs to save them for those important games and substitutes often lack the quality to win regular league matches. Real Madrid’s problems with the teams approaching them are purely defensive.

With Royal it is easier to play against opponents who – like Liverpool – want to play football themselves, have it for a long time, build actions. Before El Clasico, it’s worth remembering that it was in this closed, defensive manner that Barcelona played against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey two weeks ago and won 1-0 in Madrid.

What face of Real Madrid will we see in Sunday’s El Clasico? So much the better, European, because the opponent is top this time, or maybe the face of the league when you don’t know what to expect from a team from Madrid?

I am convinced that we will see the best version of Real Madrid. But not because the team is mobilizing so much for the eternal rival, but because Sunday’s Clasico takes place just before the break for the national team matches. So Ancelotti doesn’t need to spare his players, he can give it his all. Real Madrid will put everything they have at stake because a possible Barcelona win would give them a 12-point lead in the league, making it hard to catch up in the Spanish title race.

I think Real Madrid will try to reach the level that they showed in Liverpool for example. I hope it will be a good, exciting game. The question is how much Barcelona will allow Real Madrid, because after this meeting in the Spanish Cup it was clear that coach Xavi had an idea to neutralize the strengths of the opponent. Then he put in defense in depth and it worked. However, it is worth remembering that in the Spanish Super Cup, Barca played with Real Madrid in a completely different way, bolder and also won. So it is not easy to predict how the Catalans will play this time, but I rather expect a tight match from them.

Xavi will certainly focus a lot on defence, but it must also be made clear that his DNA at Barcelona is more than just goal building. In addition, the match is taking place at the Camp Nou and the audience will not accept such an idea of ​​playing El Clasico.