Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said the team still need to improve their mentality to win the big trophies this season as they prepare for Sunday’s Supercopa final against Real Madrid (watch LIVE on ESPN+).
Barça thumped Madrid 4-0 earlier in the season in LaLiga as they won 11 of their opening 12 games, but they have won just one of their following seven in the league, dropping to third in the table.
During that time, Hansi Flick’s side have lost to both Las Palmas and Leganés at home, with Lewandowski conceding they have dropped points in games they should not have.
“It’s too early to say if we can [win everything],” the Poland international told ESPN from Barça’s base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Sunday’s El Clásico showpiece will take place.
“Of course, we can beat everyone. But to win everything, you need the luck during the season as well. We have amazing potential, but potential is one thing; mentality is the second thing.
“We prove a lot. We prove a lot [our] mentality. But, for example, if you want to win the league, you have to win the small games.
“We lost some points with the … I don’t want to say small games, but the games that for the people are not so important, but for us should be important.
“I hope this year we’re also going to win these games that we have to win and also the big games. That is the next step for the young players, for us, for everyone to improve.”
Lewandowski also hopes Barça’s pre-Christmas slump will serve as a learning curve for the second half of the campaign, with Wednesday’s 2-0 semifinal win against Athletic Club suggesting they may have turned a corner.
“We were very good at the start of the season,” he added. “After so many games that we were winning and we were scoring so many goals, then came a period that we didn’t play how we wish.
“Maybe the last few weeks in December, we weren’t on the high level. But generally, if you are looking back and you see that we have so many young players, sometimes I think maybe it’s better that this bad [spell] was in December and we can learn for the future.”
Lewandowski scored twice when Barça beat Madrid at the Bernabéu in October. In total, he has netted 25 times in all competitions this season in just 26 appearances.
“I am excited,” he said of meeting Madrid this weekend. “I think this final is going to be a really good game, and we will show our best football because these are special games. It’s the first opportunity to win a title. I want to win this title. We want to win this title.
“Madrid have amazing players. Individually they are so strong, they are very good. Sometimes you think that they’re playing slowly, that they don’t have the game under control, but they’re waiting to give you one punch, and we have to be ready.
“But if we’re playing our football, if we’re trying to not give them many opportunities, we [can] win and we can be the better team.”
