On Wednesday, the Administrative Tribunal for Sport upheld the decision to suspend Robert Lewandowski for three league matches. This means the striker will be absent from the upcoming games against Atletico Madrid, Getafe and Girona. FC Barcelona has announced that there will be no further appeal against the penalty. In the coming hours, Xavi will have to make an important decision – who will replace the 34-year-old in the center of the attack? Spanish media claim that they already know the answer to this question.
The Spanish media have no doubts. Fati will replace Lewandowski
Journalists of “Marki” and “Sport” agree that Ansu Fati will appear in the starting eleven for the match against Atletico. It is the 20-year-old who is to take Lewandowski’s place on the pitch. The trainer thought about two other players, Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay, but in the end Fati won the “casting” for the replacement of the Pole in the upcoming clash.
The possibility of his involvement was speculated a few days ago. Media reported that Xavi made the final decision after the Copa del Rey’s round of 16 match against CF Intercity. Then Barcelona miraculously avoided embarrassment and won 4:3, and Fati scored the winning goal in extra-time. In this meeting, the coach tested three potential replacements for Lewandowski and the 20-year-old was the best. He was the third best player for Barcelona in terms of the number of shots fired – 4, and he played only 46 minutes. Raphinha hit the same number of times, and Ousmane Dembele hit the most – 10. .
We will find out who will eventually replace Lewandowski on January 8 around 20:00. Then the runners-up of Spain should announce the line-up for the match against Atlético. The first whistle at Wanda Metropolitano will sound at 21:00.
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Barcelona will come into the competition weakened. In addition to Lewandowski, Jordi Alba will also not be on the pitch, who has to pause for a red card in the match against Espanyol (1: 1). Alejandro Balde will most likely replace him against Diego Simeone’s team.
The match against Atletico will be very important in the context of the La Liga table. Real Madrid lost 2-1 to Villarreal on Saturday. If Barcelona take advantage of the gift of their main rivals and win against Atlético, they will jump up in the table by three points.
Source: Sport
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