FIFA 23 Team of the Season Lewandowski Player Review

Two weeks… About the exact amount of time that TOTS Kane was able to run rampant as one of the most menacing strikers in the game.  It was almost as if the LENGTHY META was reincarnated as the Spurs man has been a true pain to play against of late.

However, rumor has it that the England man has been brought down to earth with a form of nerf (conspiracy theorists get your tinfoil hats out) and is no longer the man he once was so far this weekend.  So why does this matter?  Our hope was that Lewandowski might be in the same fast-flowing powerboat that Kane has been in and help the squad skip across the troubled Weekend League waters.

It was instantly obvious that the now Barca striker would be playing in the same exact position for my squad this weekend, leading the line in the 4-2-2-2 formation.  On the other hand the chemistry style selection was not so clear and led to some trial and error before settling on the best option.

Initially, the ENGINE chem style seemed the best choice with the hope that it would avoid any clunky feeling with the big man.  Unfortunately, this did nothing of the sort and I was left with a rather unsatisfactory first impression of the big man.
With the failed ENGINE experiment it was a decision to lean into the LENGTHY AcceleRATE type that led to an ANCHOR selection.  The impact of this move was immediately tangible and Lewandowski felt infinitely better.  Yet there was a small issue with the passing that led to a further ARCHITECT application, but there was nothing to build on with this test run and I eventually settled on the ANCHOR as the best selection.

Lewandowski lead the line and offered the final threat all weekend long in the following squad:

Overall 

Certainly not in the Kane 2.0 conversation and unfortunately Lewandowski fell into a lot of the constant pitfalls of other big strikers.  There is an overarching quality about this card and I am not suggesting he be 100% avoided by any means, there are just several concerns that need voicing before you make the ultimate decision.

Main Statistics – Shooting

Shooting Rating: 9/10
Weak Foot: ★★★★★

Traits: Finesse Shot, Outside Foot Shot

Normally we reserve the main statistics as the element of a card that makes them unique and perform under the pressure of the Weekend League squeeze… but on odd occasions it serves the purpose of highlighting the main statistics that broke the cards chances of being the next big thing in FUT.

Yes, I am suggesting that, above all, Lewandowski’s finishing broke this card's chances of a higher rating.  The problem is that with literally perfect 99 statistics across the board and boasting the two key shooting traits, I expected Lewandowski to never miss.

Now I am not talking about being on fire in NBA JAM level of percentages… But I expected Lewa to finish the high quality chances that came his way, and he didn’t, or at least not all of them.  He was still so good and that is why there is still a 9 respresting the overall experience.  But it was not near the perfect 10 either and was honestly the biggest disappointment of the review.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins Rating: 3/5

Now “that dog” might have been let out of Harry Kane in the past day or so, but the card is still quality and overall represents a great frontman to lead the line in a lot of squads.  Lewandowski is honestly the exact same animal as Kane and yet it costs nearly four times the price tag to currently bring the Barca man into your squads.  That is a crazy difference and nothing I experienced in the review justifies the disparity in price.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5

Now there were areas where everything was not perfect, but like I said at the outset, this is still a great card.

+ The physical presence of Lewandowski was always going to be a bright spot and the ANCHOR application actually takes the total to 99 STRENGTH.  Overall it was difficult to get round the big man with this back to goal and offered some good swivel and shoot chances along the way.

+ The pace after the ANCHOR change was a noticeable difference and the LENGTHY AcceleRATE was well at play here.  The 94 SPRINT SPEED was only amplified by the longer strides and created a lot of chances during the review.

The shooting not being 100% perfect and nitpicking that fact is one thing, but there were some other major concerns that started to break my faith in this card being the one to lead my squad this weekend.

- The LENGTHY AcceleRATE negatively impacts the 95 ACCELERATION which had multiple domino effects.  One of the major issues was that the quality dribbling statistics could not shine when Lewandowski couldn’t get going out of the gates after dribbles were completed.  In tight spaces the 85 AGILITY & 92 DRIBBLING were actually quite responsive, but everything after was a struggle.

- Maybe my biggest concern with this review was the passing, or lack thereof.  This disparity was the main reason for my ARCHITECT experiment and in the end nothing much changed.  Lewandowski just simply misses passes and the direction of those passes is the biggest issue.  The one assist during the review is a fantastic highlight of that fact.

Closing Words

The 14 goals that Lewandowki racked up in 7 matches still shows the quality that is at the surface of this card.  Unfortunately the price tag is just too steep to suggest a card that can’t even deliver on perfect statistics.

There were a couple of missed chances in this review that were legendarily bad and it just shouldn’t happen with a card of Lewa’s level.  The price tag is too high, the returns are too small, and it is clear that Lewandowki did not receive the first week Kane treatment and therefore is an easy choice to pass on.
Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.