Lewandowski is required to control his nerves in the face of Manzano (David Postmante / Getty)
Club receives BarcelonaWed Club Real Sociedadin the quarter-finals for the Spanish King’s CupIn a match that is expected to draw attention to it, given the distinguished level presented by the two teams during the current period.
High spirits
The Blaugrana enters the match with high spirits, following its victory over its eternal rivals Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, in addition to its supremacy on the throne of La Liga, as Xavi’s sons seek to win the cup title after the team left the last version of the sixteenth round.
Barcelona managed to reach this role after it achieved a difficult victory at the expense of Inter City in the round of 32, 4-3, after a match that extended to two additional halves, and then overcame Atletico by five clean.
As for Sociedad, it defeated Casalegas in the first round, then Club Deportivo Correa in the second round, and eliminated Logrones in the round of 32 before defeating Real Mallorca in the final price.
The team, in turn, is going through a distinguished period, as it achieved a series of victories of up to 7 consecutive matches in all competitions, despite the problems of injuries in the team.
During the current season, Real Sociedad achieved many records, as it achieved the highest series of consecutive victories in the club’s history, numbering 9, and it also achieved 14 away wins out of a total of 16 matches, which is also a record in the team’s history, with another record, which is 4 consecutive victories. Off the ground, as for the most important number, it has won 21 games during the current season, which makes it the most victorious team in the five major leagues with Arsenal of England and Paris Saint-Germain of France.
History of Barcelona
FC Barcelona has the largest number of titles in the cup competition among all the teams in Spain, as it is considered the first specialist in this competition by winning 31 titles, while Athletic Bilbao won 23, while Real Madrid lifted 19 cups, while Real Sociedad did not exceed four cups, so The Catalan team is seeking to consolidate its position in the leadership of the Spanish teams.
Lewandowski vs Manzano
The Spanish Federation appointed referee Gil Manzano to manage the match, and he is the referee who gave Robert Lewandowski a red card against Osasuna in his last match last November, before stopping to play in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which led to the Polish being suspended for three matches.
Manzano does not have a clean history with Barcelona, as he has many shots that sparked controversy, the most important of which was the shot of Lionel Messi’s expulsion in the 2021 cup final, just as Luis Suarez was previously expelled in the 2017 cup semi-final.
Regarding this appointment, Xavi Hernandez, the coach of the team, said during the press conference before the match: “I always tell the players to forget the referees. These are situations that we cannot control. We can control our mental state. We are in a good moment and this appointment of the referee will not change anything.”
The Barcelona coach added, “We will try to deal in the best possible way and make the match go unnoticed. When there is no controversy, the referees are happier. For me there is no problem, and also Lewandowski is a great professional and he will not think about the referee.”