Robert Lewandowski is currently on international duty with Poland but couldn’t find the back of the net last time out against the Netherlands.
The Barcelona striker admitted afterwards he had been told to do a specific job on Frenkie de Jong during the game in a bid to limit the Dutch star’s influence.
Poland coach Jan Urban has now leapt to the defence of the striker and explained why it was such a tough match for the Barcelona ace.
“It’s logical that there are matches where you know before the first
whistle that the opponent will dominate, will have more possession. Such matches aren’t fun for a striker,” he told reporters.
“Not many balls reach him. If there’s a match like that, the striker’s role changes quite significantly. He needs to work on defense, and in that respect, no one can criticize Robert, because he worked brilliantly defensively, he did it very well.”
An injury in pre-season means that Lewandowski has endured a slow start to the season. He’s only made two substitute appearances for Barcelona so far, but the Catalans will be hoping he can get back to his best when he returns from international duty.
