The 2024/25 La Liga season has reached its mid-term stage, with the campaign currently paused for holidays.
Having led the standings for most of the season, Barcelona have fallen down the standings in recent weeks and find themselves in third position behind Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid.
One of the key reasons behind the Catalans’ recent problems is the poor form of star striker Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski leads the race for Pichichi
The race to win the 2024/2025 Pichichi, the award for La Liga’s top scorer, is shaping up to be exciting, with two big contenders aspiring to succeed Artem Dovbyk, winner of last season’s award with 24 goals.
The battle for the Pichichi sees the experienced Lewandowski, who won the award in the 2022/2023 season, aiming to win back the award.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappé, who moved from PSG to Real Madrid, is also a strong contender, having won the Ligue 1 top scorer award for the last six seasons and hoping to extend his winning streak in Spain.
Despite a dip in his scoring form in recent games, Lewandowski remains at the top of the La Liga scoring charts with 16 goals.
Her closest rival is her Barcelona teammate Raphinha, who is second with 11 goals. Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s star summer signing Kylian Mbappé is in third place with 10 goals.
With the first half of the season almost complete, Lewandowski leads the race with 16 goals, largely thanks to his impressive start to the season, although he has only scored two goals in his last seven games.
This drop in form has allowed their rivals to close the gap, although Raphinha, who occupies second place, is still some distance away with 11 goals.
Meanwhile, Mbappé has experienced an upward trend towards the end of 2024, placing him in third place with 10 goals, the same as Osasuna’s Ante Budimir.
In fifth position is his Real Madrid teammate, Vinicius Jr, who has scored 8 goals, the same as Ayoze Pérez (Villarreal), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla) and Alexander Sorloth (Atlético de Madrid).