Robert Lewandowski continues to prove his immense value to Barcelona and once again made a significant contribution against Valencia.

Already in his first game of his third season with the Catalan giants, Lewandowski has engraved his name deeper into the club’s glorious history.

With his brace, which secured all three points for Barcelona, ​​the Polish striker overtook one of the club’s most famous characters, Johan Cruyff, in the goalscoring list.

Lewandowski’s tally now stands at 61 goals in just 96 appearances as Barcelona’s No. 9, a feat that surpasses Johan Cruyff, who scored 60 goals in 180 games over five seasons during his time at the club.

Different players, different profiles

While Cruyff’s role was more versatile – he often orchestrated play from different areas of the pitch and excelled at creating chances for his teammates – Lewandowski’s efficiency in front of goal was nothing short of remarkable.

The significance of Lewandowski’s performance is underlined by the context in which it came. Playing at the Mestalla, one of the more demanding environments in La Liga, he delivered under pressure on the first day of the league.

The game was particularly difficult as Barcelona had to field a squad full of young players due to injuries and restrictions imposed by the club’s salary cap. Despite these challenges, Lewandowski showed what he could do when it mattered most.

Valencia have become one of Lewandowski’s favourite opponents in La Liga and his latest brace takes his tally to six goals against them.

He scored his first goal against Valencia in his debut season, followed by a hat-trick in his second season and now the two decisive goals in the most recent encounter.

Before this game, Celta and Elche were the teams he had scored the most against, with four goals each.