"Needed attackers who can attack behind the defense" - Xavi explains Robert Lewandowski's substitution in Barcelona's win over Las Palmas

Xavi Hernandez has explained his decision to take off goal scorer supreme Robert Lewandowski in Barcelona's 2-1 LaLiga win against UD Las Palmas on Thursday (4 January).

Two former Barca forwards, Sandro Ramirez and Munir El Haddadi, combined to put Las Palmas in front in the 12th minute. The latter's strike was enough to send the hosts into the dressing room with a priceless lead at halftime.

Ferran Torres then leveled matters 10 minutes after the restart after getting a shot away inside the box with several Las Palmas defenders around him. While it may not count as an assist, Lewandowski played a big role in that goal.

A clearance struck the Polish superstar's head and the ball went back into the danger zone, leading to Torres' goal. 17 minutes later, 'Lewa' was brought off, which was a surprising decision for some, given his extraordinary goal-scoring record.

Ever since his transfer from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022, Lewandowski has been Barcelona's main man up front, scoring 42 goals in 68 club matches. However, he was taken off alongside Raphinha to bring on Vitor Roque and Raphinha.

Explaining the decision after the game at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, Xavi said (h/t @BarcaTimes on X):

"Lewandowski was replaced today because we needed attackers who can attack behind the defense line like Roque and Ferran."

Barca eventually scored the winner in stoppage time through an Ilkay Gundogan penalty. Lewandowski, meanwhile, finished the game with no shots on target or chances created.

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Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez happy with Vitor Roque display in Las Palmas win

Vitor Roque finally made his debut for Barcelona, doing so as a late substitute in the 2-1 win against UD Las Palmas.

Barca reached a €40 million deal with Athletico-PR last summer to sign the 18-year-old Brazilian striker. However, he only joined the Catalan giants' squad this month.

Speaking about the teenager's display after the game, Xavi Hernandez said, via the aforementioned source:

"Vitor Roque? He did well. He gave us great energy in the last few minutes."

Roque had a golden chance to score in the last seconds of the game when Barcelona, already 2-1 up, launched a counterattack. Joao Felix found the Brazilian with a simple pass inside the box, whose finish was just wide of the right post. He recorded four touches in the opposition's box and attempted three shots.