Poland manager urges referees to protect banged-up Lewandowski

Struggling Poland striker Robert Lewandowski should get more help from referees in light of the brutal tackles he's received at Euro 2016, according to manager Adam Nawalka.

With no goals, Lewandowski has fired just two shots on target through four matches in France - both of them against Switzerland in the Round of 16.

But he does lead one category: the Bayern Munich man has suffered more fouls (16) than any other player at the Euros.

Nawalka's main gripe is not his captain's form but the little protection referees offer the 27-year-old.

"For me, he's the best No. 9 in the world. And he's marked very tightly in this tournament, with double, even triple marking. Opponents attack him on the limit every time," said Nawalka, according to ESPN FC's John Brewin.

"When an opponent is trying to eliminate, at any cost, a particular player from the game, referees need to pay more attention to make sure those fouls are picked up very quickly. They need to react quickly with yellow and red cards and stamp out those fouls from the game."

Scoring 13 goals in qualifying, Lewandowski is one of the main reasons why Poland reached France.

But his teammates haven't done much to relieve his goal-scoring burden. Arkadiusz Milik in particular has struggled to find the back of the net from advantageous positions on numerous occasions.

They both have a chance to reassert themselves in Thursday's quarter-final against Portugal.