Warsaw, Sep 18 (IANS): FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernadez admitted that Robert Lewandowski surprised him in the first weeks of playing with the Catalan club.

Poland captain Lewandowski continues his perfect start at Camp Nou after joining Barcelona from Bayern Munich this summer. On Saturday the forward's brace led the team to a 3-0 victory over Elche. Lewandowski sits at the top of the La Liga top scorer's standings as he found the net eight times in six appearances.

"I'm really surprised at what a man he is. I mean his modesty, diligence and professionalism. He is always involved in the game. It's really a luxury for a coach to have him in the locker room," Xavi was quoted as saying by Spanish media on Sunday, reports Xinhua.

"We have a lot of young players who didn't win a lot of trophies. They are very motivated to lift the cups. Simultaneously I can count on the experienced players such as Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique or Lewandowski. I'm really happy because I see that the team really wants to win," the FC Barcelona coach added.

Dutch striker Memphis Depay, who found the net against Elche just before the break, also praised Lewandowski on Sunday.

"He is a very intelligent player. On the pitch he thinks really fast and he is very good at creating space for other players. Earlier I hadn't got many chances to play with Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele. I'm happy that on Saturday I could cooperate with them," Depay said.