Robert Lewandowski opened his account for Barcelona on Sunday evening at Camp Nou. The Catalan club routed Mexican outfit Pumas in the final of the Joan Gamper Trophy, winning 6-0. The Pole scored the opening goal in just the third minute of the tie.
That proved to be a moment that opened the floodgates – Pedri scored a second for Barcelona two minutes later before Ousmane Dembele added a third five minutes after that. Pedri scored his second of the evening in the 19th to round out a fine first half.
The second half continued in the same vein. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got in on the action four minutes into it before Frenkie de Jong put the uncertainty about his future to one side to complete the evisceration six minutes from the final whistle.
Lewandowski is a serious signing for Barcelona. The 33-year-old Polish marksman scored 344 goals in 375 appearances for Bayern Munich during his time there and has become one of the most lethal forwards in the European game. He’ll score goals in La Liga.
Speaking in comments carried by Diario Sport, Lewandowski revealed that his time working with Pep Guardiola at Bayern indirectly influenced his decision to come to Camp Nou.
“Guardiola’s philosophy and his style for caring for and managing the team was like bringing Barcelona to Bayern Munich,” he said. “Xavi [Hernandez] is very similar to Guardiola. They were both sixes and they worked together. They think about football in the same way. With that memory [of working with Guardiola] in mind, Barcelona was the only option for me. It was great preparation.
“I didn’t talk to Guardiola before signing. But when I was with him at Bayern it was like a great preparation to come to Barcelona one day. All the staff were Spanish and there were eight Spanish players. During that period I had a very good relationship with Thiago [Alcantara] and Javi Martinez. Both of them congratulated me when I signed for Barcelona.”
