Robert Lewandowski proved as soon as once more that age is only a quantity, delivering the decisive blow for FC Barcelona of their win over Atletico Madrid regardless of being 37 years outdated and working in a diminished function this season. That late winner has now positioned the Polish striker getting ready to a 75-year-old La Liga goalscoring file that even Lionel Messi was unable to achieve throughout his time on the membership.
With head coach Hansi Flick deploying Dani Olmo as a false 9, neither Ferran Torres nor Lewandowski was within the beginning lineup in opposition to Atletico Madrid. Coming off the bench within the 79th minute with the rating degree at 1-1, Lewandowski pounced within the 87th minute, turning dwelling a rebound from Juan Musso after a robust Joao Cancelo strike, to seal a vital 2-1 victory and inch nearer to a exceptional milestone.
Based on Diario Sport, that objective in opposition to Atletico leaves Lewandowski only one behind the file set by Juan Vazquez, who turned La Liga’s prime scorer amongst gamers aged 37 or older throughout the 1950-51 season with Celta de Vigo, netting 13 targets. Lewandowski, 75 years on, now sits at 12 La Liga targets for the marketing campaign.
A muscle situation throughout preseason slowed Lewandowski’s begin to the 2025-26 marketing campaign, steadily costing him his place as Barcelona’s undisputed first-choice striker. Nonetheless, he opened his La Liga account with a brace in opposition to Valencia on Matchday 4 on September 14, and together with his birthday falling on August 21, each single considered one of his 12 league targets this season has been scored as a 37-year-old.
Messi has claimed numerous data in La Liga over time, each as Barcelona‘s all-time prime scorer and throughout the competitors’s historical past. Nevertheless, his 2021 departure from the Blaugrana at age 34 lower quick any likelihood he had of ever difficult Vazquez’s mark, leaving the file untouched for Lewandowski to now chase.
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With 30 La Liga matchdays within the books, Lewandowski nonetheless has as much as eight video games remaining to not solely match however surpass the 75-year-old file. Having scored 12 targets in 25 appearances, if he can preserve wherever close to that tempo, the Polish legend is well-placed to make historical past earlier than the season is out.
Lewandowski chasing one other file he already shares with Messi
A number of elements have chipped away at Lewandowski’s standing as an automated starter, together with his contract expiring on the finish of the season, the emergence of Ferran Torres and Flick’s tactical flexibility in deploying Marcus Rashford or Dani Olmo in central positions. But the veteran continues to show his worth from the bench, the place he’s now chasing yet one more file.
Lewandowski has scored six targets in its place within the present season, matching the whole Ferran Torres managed final season and equaling Messi‘s personal benchmark from the 2012-13 marketing campaign. The outright file belongs to fellow Argentine Juan Antonio Pizzi, who scored eight targets off the bench throughout the 1996-97 seasons, one other milestone nicely inside the Polish striker’s attain earlier than the curtain falls on the marketing campaign.
