Barcelona forward, Robert Lewandowski has stated that he is no longer taking penalties for the Blaugrana due to a lack of confidence and rhythm.
The former Dortmund and Bayern Munich striker said his lack of confidence stemmed from his reduced role this season.
So, both Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have now taken on the responsibility of taking penalties for Hansi Flick’s team.
Lewandowski has been really good at taking penalties throughout his career, scoring 89 out of 101 attempts, which means he has a success rate of 88 percent.
However, the Poland international notably missed two penalties for Barcelona earlier this season against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
Even though that’s the case, the 37-year-old player has remained reliable for his LaLiga team this season, scoring 16 goals and providing three assists in 37 matches across all competitions.
However, he has only played 1950 minutes on the pitch and has made five LaLiga starts since the beginning of December.
Robert Lewandowski was recently asked why he is no longer taking penalties for the Blaugrana, to which he replied (via Barca Blaugranes), “When a player sometimes plays and sometimes doesn’t, there’s a lack of confidence in key moments because you don’t feel the pitch, you’ve just come on, or you haven’t played in the last two or three games.
“Sometimes there’s a moment of hesitation. We make these decisions on the pitch. We have some people who are really good at taking penalty kicks. I’m always ready, but sometimes if you haven’t spent much time on the pitch, you might not have the same feel and rhythm.
“In those situations, it’s better to think about what’s best for the team. And in a particular match, the player who feels more confident should take the penalties.
“This wasn’t because of missed penalties, but due to my situation and the time I spent on the pitch.”
Lewandowski has notably missed five games this season, four due to a muscle injury and one due to a broken cheekbone.