On Saturday, Robert Lewandowski incurred the wrath of Espanyol fans - despite not scoring in Barcelona's one-all draw during the Catalan Derby.
The Polish star took part in the match despite initially being slapped with a three match ban, causing Espanyol to file yet another complaint after the match.
Today, it was revealed that the 34-year-old will indeed have to serve his ban, meaning that he will not be available to feature in Barcelona's upcoming clash against Atletico Madrid. Spain's football authorities, after "careful consideration" have decided to deny the Blaugrana their appeal to have Lewandowski's ban overturned.
Given that their appeal did work for him to feature against Espanyol in Barcelona's final match of 2022, it is understandable why Barcelona thought they would again be successful in, this time, getting his ban cancelled for him to be available for the trip to face Los Rojiblancos.
As a result, he will miss not only Barcelona's match against Atletico Madrid this weekend, but also other games against Getafe and Girona. With 13 goals so far, the former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund player is showing that his goal-scoring abilities are not just restricted to the Bundesliga, and given that he's his team's top goal-scorer so far, his absence will be keenly felt as Xavi's side aim to commence 2023 on a strong note.
