Xavi praises Lewandowski after Barca beat Mallorca

Robert Lewandowski scored again to lead Barcelona’s 1-0 win at Mallorca on Saturday as the Poland newcomer continues destroying defences in the Spanish league.

Mallorca tried to keep Barcelona in check by packing a line of four midfielders in front of five defenders close to their area. But a moment of inspiration by Lewandowski was all it took to ruin the plan of coach Javier Aguirre.

That took Lewandowski to a league-leading nine goals and 12 overall counting the Champions League. He has scored in six straight rounds after failing only in the league opener.

“(Lewandowski) made the difference today, but also our defensive work and our circulation of the ball, in addition to Ter Stegen’s saves, were key to this win,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said.

“We were good at being patient,” Xavi added. “It is always difficult to attack a system of 5-4-1. It was tough. We should have gone for a second goal but it wasn’t easy coming back from the international break.”

Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid put more pressure on beleaguered coach Julen Lopetegui after Álvaro Morata and Marcos Llorente scored in a 2-0 win at Sevilla.