Lewandowski and Raphinha: what do they bring to Barca?

Xavi

Barcelona have recently confirmed two HUGE summer signings in Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds United… but what attributes will they add to Xavi’s squad?

The Catalan club reportedly spent a combined total of £100 million on both Lewi and Raph, so their fans will undoubtedly be expecting big things from them both. 

Check out these stats from their respective league performances in the 2021-22 season which show why they are worth the big bucks. 

 

Robert Lewandowski 

Offensive

Robert Lewandowski is a phenomenal player; he is deservedly regarded as one of the best strikers in the world and has been for many years. In fact, he has registered over 30 league goals every season since 2016, numbers only rivalled by prime Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Lewi has won the Bundesliga Golden Boot SEVEN times, despite having competition from a certain Erling Haaland. In 2021, he won the Ballon D’or Striker of the Year award, finally getting recognition for his unbelievable performances. 

The 2021-22 season was another incredible one from Poland’s captain. For Bayern Munich, Lewandowski is never afraid to take plenty of shots… even if some of them don’t come off, he still backs himself – a great lesson for any young striker. As a result, he averages 4.7 shots on target per game, more than the norm for a centre-forward.

His confidence in front of goal was rewarded by a goal tally of 35 goals in 34 games, averaging 1.03 per match and netting every 84 minutes on average. 

To put that into context… if Watford had Lewandowski in their team last season, they would have scored the same number of goals as Spurs… that is how much of a difference it can make to have someone of his quality in your team.  

Now that his move to Barca has become official, it will be great to see Lewandowski and Benzema battle it out for the 2022-23 La Liga Golden Boot.

Played: 34
Shots per game: 4.7
Goals: 35
Goals per game: 1.03
Minutes per goal: 84’

Playmaking 

Another area of Lewandowski’s game that is impressive is his passing ability. Most strikers generally wait for the ball to get to them, but the Pole is usually very involved in every game he plays, averaging 21.6 passes per match – a high number for a centre-forward. He rarely gives the ball away too, with a 77.4% pass success rate. 

He can also create chances for his teammates, too, averaging 1.1 key passes per game. The only surprise is that he only picked up only three assists across the 2021-22 campaign. 

Then again, it doesn’t matter how many assists you get if you’re scoring a goal a game.  

Passes per game: 21.6 
Pass success rate: 77.4% 
Key passes per game: 1.1  
Crosses per game: 0.1
Assists: 3

Defensive 

It may seem strange to look at a striker’s defensive stats, but after all, defending starts from the front and high-pressing football is becoming increasingly popular – so it shouldn’t be disregarded. 

Lewandowski, after all, began his career as a right-back… yes, really!

Last season, Lewi made 11 successful tackles in total for Bayern Munich: an average of 0.3 per match, which is high for a striker. He also made seven interceptions, too. 

Additionally, Lewandowski is often praised for his excellent work rate, covering 322.1km of ground during the 2021-22 season, making him Bayern’s second-most hard-working player.

As a striker, numbers like that are extremely rare and this was likely one of the reasons why Barca manager Xavi saw him as a transfer priority this summer.  

Tackles: 11
Tackles per game: 0.3
Interceptions: 7
Fouls: 21
Yellow cards: 2
Clean sheets: 11

 

Raphinha 

Offensive 

Perhaps not quite the same calibre of player, but one of the same importance to Barca: Raphinha’s transfer from Yorkshire to Catalonia was finally officially confirmed last week after months of speculation. 

The  25-year-old winger was voted Leeds’ Player of the Season for 21-22 after a fantastic campaign for the club, filled with great goals and dazzling dribbling skills which turned him into a brief cult hero among the Leeds faithful.

When looking at these stats, you have to remember that Leeds are not quite as good as Bayern Munich (no offence, Leeds fans), so it's fair to say it's more difficult to achieve consistently good stats in every department playing in a team that only just escaped relegation. 

But, in terms of his attacking play, Raphinha is one of those players who will get you on your feet. On average,  he has 2.5 shots on target per game, never failing to test the opposition’s goalkeeper. 

He’s also excellent at running with the ball, averaging 1.8 successful dribbles per game. You really don’t want to be defending against him when he’s on top form. 

Overall, he netted 11 times in the Premier League in 2021-22, making him Leeds United’s top scorer and one of the division’s most prolific wingers. Without these goals, they simply would not have survived relegation.

He averaged a goal every 266 minutes and 0.31 per game. If he can replicate those numbers in La Liga in the coming campaign, I’m sure Barca would be more than satisfied with their new £55 million signing.  But, with better players around him, his goal tally may get even better. 

Played: 35
Shots per game: 2.5
Goals: 11
Goals per game: 0.31 
Minutes per goal: 266’

Playmaking 

But there is more to Raph than just goals, as the Brazilian international is also effective in finding teammates in dangerous areas. 

Playing mainly as a winger, he can provide good balls into the box for his teammates. He makes an average of 0.9 crosses per game, one of the highest ranked players in that stat. He also makes 1.9 key passes per game, another decent average for a player in a team near the bottom of the league table. 

However, where he will need to improve at Barcelona is his pass accuracy, which last season was low at just 69.3%. 

If Xavi wants to reignite the tiki-taka playing style he mastered under Pep Guardiola, Raph will have to up his game in that department. 

He also only made three assists across the 2021-22 campaign, but perhaps you can put this down to the fact that Leeds did not have a good striker to finish off the chances Raphinha created. 

Nevertheless, it will be great to see him whipping in some top-quality balls for Lewandowski in 2022-23. 

Passes per game: 30.7
Pass success rate: 69.3% 
Key passes per game: 1.9
Crosses per game: 0.9
Assists: 3 

Defensive

One of the best parts of Raphinha’s game though is his defensive work rate, which often goes unnoticed. In regards to both him and Lewandowski, Xavi will be happy to add attacking players who have the ability to defend, helping his squad to implement a high-pressing style of football.

In total, the Brazilian made 53 successful tackles in the 2021-22 season and 28 interceptions, which are both unusually high for a winger. 

He is also highly praised for his work rate, which is another thing that made him extremely popular at Elland Road. 

Raphinha does tend to lash out at times, making 39 fouls and picking up seven yellow cards across the season. However, many would argue the fighting spirit to his game is a positive thing, rather than a negative one. 

If he continues to work as hard for Barca as he did for Leeds off the ball, he will undoubtedly be very well-liked by Barcelona fans.  

Tackles: 53
Tackles per game: 1.5
Interceptions: 28
Fouls: 39
Yellow cards: 7
Clean sheets: 5