FC Barcelona´s Robert Lewandowski looks set to battle Real Madrid´s Kylian Mbappe for La Liga´s Pichichi (scoring title) as both teams head down the final stretch with nine games remaining.
With two goals Saturday night against Leganes, Mbappe put himself on 22 for the season, just one behind Lewandowski, but the Polish veteran answered Sunday with a brace of his own against Girona FC putting his tally at 25 on the season.
Lewandowski has scored in 9 of the last 10 La Liga matches for Barca, with 9 goals in that stretch, while Mbappe has 10 goals in 9 matches including a January 25th hat trick against Real Valladolid.
At age 36, Lewandowski´s 25 La Liga goals is his most every in a Barca jersey and his 38 goals in all competitions is also his most ever. He won the Pichichi in 2023 with 23 goals, and he´s now set to battle Mbappe, who´s looking to win it in his first La Liga season.
Mbappe scored 44 and 41 goals in his last two seasons at Paris St. Germain, and won the Ligue 1 scoring title a record six times. After scoring 21 goals in his first season at PSG in 2017/2018, he never scored fewer than 30 goals in a season and scored 39 or more five times.
With both players still involved in the Copa del Rey and Champions League it will be interesting to see if either are rested for any upcoming La Liga matches. Madrid face Deportivo Alaves on April 13th, just 3 days before the 2nd leg of their Champions League tie with Arsenal and this could be a match Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti sits Mbappe. Barca on the other hand have Leganes on April 12th, also just 3 days before their 2nd leg Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund.
While some would argue FC Barcelona is in better form, giving an edge to Lewandowski, it can be argued that Madrid is much more reliant on Mbappe, as they have struggled particularly in La Liga. All eyes will certainly be on the May 11th Clasico in Barcelona for both the Pichichi and La Liga title race fights between Barca and Madrid
Lewandowski has Raphina and Lamine Yamal, who have combined for 19 assists, while Mbappe has Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo who have 10. It´s hard to argue playing the 9 in between either of those player combinations, however.
The bottom line is it´s going to be a fantastic final 2 months of the season as we watch these two world-class players battle for the Pichichi, while their respective teams battle for the treble.