Xavi Hernandez described Robert Lewandowski as "maybe the best striker in the world" after the Pole extended his prolific start to life at Barcelona with the only goal in Saturday's win at Mallorca.
Lewandowski, who joined Barca from Bayern Munich in the summer, became the first player to score in six consecutive La Liga weeks since Ruud van Nistelrooy with Real Madrid in the 2006-07 season when he struck in the 20th minute at Son Moix.
It was the Pole's ninth goal of the season, and eighth in the league. No player has scored eight goals in his first seven La Liga games since Christian Vieri with Atletico Madrid in 1997.
“Lewandowski is a top player, a world-class scorer. Maybe the best striker in the world,” Barcelona manager Xavi said.
While the result maintained Barca's unbeaten start to the league season, hosts Mallorca were the better side for much of the match, creating several good opportunities but goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen was flawless, making brilliant saves to deny Jaume Costa, Antonio Sanchez and Kang-In Lee.
Barcelona, however, made the most of what was their only clear scoring opportunity thanks to the genius of Lewandowski, who secured the victory when he sped into the area, made a brilliant cut inside to clear a defender and slotted the ball to the goalkeeper's left.
The win lifted Barca to the top of the table on 19 points, one ahead of Real Madrid who have a game in hand and host Osasuna on Sunday aiming to restore their lead. Mallorca are 10th in the standings on eight points after seven games.
Xavi a major selection headache for his matchday squad after several key players reported back from international duty nursing injuries.
He gave teenager Ansu Fati his second start of the season and his first in the league, and it was the 19-year-old, fighting his way back from four surgeries to repair an injury to his left knee suffered in late 2020, who started the move that led to Barca's goal, stealing the ball on the left and passing to Lewandowski.
“Ansu has been very good," Xavi said. "These two weeks have helped him very much, he has been extraordinary in training. Fati wants to be an important player, and I’m convinced that he will be."
But it was Ter Stegen who was responsible for Barca coming away with a win. He made a magnificent stop with his right knee in the 35th minute, denying a close range first-touch strike from Jaume Costa.
Mallorca kept pressing after the break and the German keeper was once again there to stop an equaliser, deflecting an Antonio Sanchez shot from inside the box. He showed up again just before the final whistle to deny Kang-In Lee and secure the three points.
"Marc is in spectacular form,” Xavi said after the game.
Barcelona are next in action on Tuesday when they travel to Inter Milan for an important Champions League encounter. Both sides sit on three points from two games having both beaten Viktoria Plzen but losing to group leaders Bayern Munich.
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South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
