Barcelona manager defends scoreless striker amid Bayern feud

FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez remains optimistic despite the fact that his star signing of the summer, Robert Lewandowski, failed to score a single goal throughout the club's pre-season tour of the United States.

Lewandowski was last season's top scorer in Europe, and expectations are weighing heavily on his shoulders. However, he has been out shined in front of goal by another new arrival, Raphinha. The former Leeds United striker also joined Barcelona this summer, and scored a goal and provided assists when the Blaugrana thrashed Inter Miami in their first pre-season friendly. Then, he scored the lone goal in El Clasico just a few days later.

Apart from Raphinha, re-signed player Ousmane Dembele has also been on fire, scoring both goals against Juventus last week.

Lewandowski has so far failed to open his account in a Barcelona shirt, and fans are starting to mumble about his form. Xavi reassured critics that he is personally not worried about the striker and what he can offer to the club.

Following their final match in the US against the New York Red Bulls, Xavi said: "He has been scoring in training, as the ball was going in yesterday and then today it didn't, but it's normal."

According to Marca, the manager compared Lewandowski's slow start to that of Luis Suarez, who later became a club legend. Likewise, winter arrival Ferran Torres also took a while before finally making a breakthrough. "He [Lewandowski] is going to score goals, even though he brings much more than goals," said Xavi.

He then went on to praise the Brazilian who has been phenomenal so far. "I think Raphinha will help us a lot too, as he is a spectacular signing for this season and future ones."

Overall, the Barcelona boss is satisfied with his squad's performances during the summer. After taking over the club midway through the previous campaign, Xavi is looking forward to his first full season as Barcelona boss. "We have two more weeks until the start of the season, so we'll train hard in order to compete well," he said, confirming that they expect nothing less than to be able to fight for every available trophy after failing to bring home any silverware last season.

"I'm optimistic because of the players we have. I wish you could see how good they are in training."

Barcelona had been very active in the summer transfer market despite the fact that they are struggling financially. President Joan Laporta has been busy finding ways to generate cash, including signing a massive deal with Spotify and selling large chunks of the club's TV rights.

Xavi confirmed that there will be more exits in the coming weeks, knowing that the club needs to slash its wage bill. As for more signings, he says that financial fair play will need to be double checked to see is anything more can be done in terms of spending.

Nevertheless, he is more or less ready to start the next campaign with the squad that he currently has at his disposal.