"His decline is so sad", "Played with one man down" - Fans slam Barcelona star despite their 3-1 win in second-leg of UCL clash against Benfica

Barcelona fans on social media have castigated Robert Lewandowski despite the 3-1 win over Benfica in the second leg of the UCL round of 16. The Polish international was poor in attack once again and has failed to score in three consecutive UCL games.

La Blaugrana started the game in high spirit, and their hard work paid off as Raphinha opened the scoring in the 11th minute. The Brazilian collected a pass from Lamine Yamal and drilled his shot into the bottom right corner.

However, Benfica responded almost immediately as Nicolas Otamendi scored a decent header in the 13th minute. Andreas Schjelderup provided the assist through a corner kick. Yamal gave Barca the lead in the 27th minute as his swerving shot was too difficult for goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to handle. The assist was provided by Raphinha.

In the 42nd minute, Raphinha placed his shot into the back of the net after being set up by Alejandro Balde. Despite both teams' efforts to score in the second half, the game ended 3-1 in favor of Barcelona. This led to a 4-1 aggregate scoreline, which implies that Barca have booked their place in the quarterfinals.

However, in 70 minutes on the pitch, Lewandowski only registered 24 touches. He maintained a passing accuracy of 81 percent (13/16), registered two shots on target, and lost possession of the ball five times (via Sofascore). Having failed to score and contribute meaningfully in the attack, Lewandowski was replaced by Ferran Torres in the 70th minute.

In the game's aftermath, fans took to X to express their displeasure with Robert Lewandowski's performance, with one tweeting:

"Lewandowski’s decline is so sad man.. it’s crazy how he was arguably the frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or in the first half of the season."

"Lewandowski is well and truly finished. We need to sign a top striker this summer.," another added.

"Lewandowski has to leave next season or sit on the bench," a fan opined.

"Lewandowski cooked nonsense as always," one netizen vented.

"Much respect to Lewandowski, but it's time for a new era.," another claimed.

"Damn Lewandowski so so Bad, we literally played with one man down," wrote another.

"I think it's important now to focus on the quarterfinals" - Hansi Flick on Barcelona's chances of winning the UCL

SL Benfica v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 First Leg - Source: Getty

Barca's boss has opined that it is crucial to concentrate on the quarterfinals. Flick also added that while the UCL is a difficult competition, his side could win it.

In a post-match interview, Flick was asked if the Camp Nou outfit could win the UCL this season. He said (via Barca Universal):

"I think it's important now to focus on the quarter-finals. But yes, of course, it's a very difficult tournament, perhaps the most difficult title we can win, but hopefully we can achieve it."

Barcelona has not won the UCL since they emerged as Champions in 2015. However, given their remarkable performance this season, they could clinch the UCL trophy.