The 2024/25 La Liga title race looks like it will be fought out between Barcelona and Real Madrid, though admittedly Atletico might have something to say about that.
The Blaugrana currently sit top of the table on 34 points from 14 games, with Los Blancos four behind with a game in hand and Los Rojiblancos one point further back. New manager Hansi Flick led Barcelona to a sensational start but his team has picked up just one point from its last two games, allowing the chasing back to close the gap. And the latest La Liga 2024 betting odds can hardly split the El Clasico pair, the Catalans still slightly ahead.
Barcelona have a superb group of young exciting stars playing fast flowing and exciting football, but it is veteran striker Robert Lewandowski who is turning possession into points with 15 goals from 14 games, a tally which puts him seven goals clear of the field in the race for the Pichichi. The Polish goal machine is as lethal as ever and he’ll take some catching, with three of the chasing five all coming from either Barca or Real Madrid.
Last week my SBOTOP colleague asked if Barcelona could beat the ‘Celta Curse’? It’s a fixture the Blaugrana have struggled with and, ‘lo and behold’ they were held to a 2-2 draw by Celta Vigo; but Lewi was on target and so was Brazilian winger Raphinha who is enjoying his best season yet in Catalonia. He has been given the captain’s armband and Raphinha put in another strong performance against Celta, and the league leaders would almost certainly have won the game had Marc Casado not been sent off on 82 minutes with the score at 0-2.
Raphinha’s eight goals so far put him in joint second place in the race for the Pichichi and he has already made six assists, making him a superb ally to Lewandowski who has now scored 57 goals in 83 games for the Blaugrana and over 600 for club and country in a glittering career. He won the Pichichi in 2023 and was top scorer in the Bundesliga seven times and Lewi is already the man to beat this season. If the 36 year old stays fit, and he is rarely injured, I think he will win it at a canter.
Raphinha is in brilliant form but he is unlikely to keep up his ratio of a goal every 147 minutes; though he is well in the race to be the biggest assist maker with one more than Los Blancos’ star Vinicius Junior and one fewer than his Barca team-mate Lamine Yamal.
Vinicius is alongside Raphinha on eight goals for the season so far and he has a better goals-per-minute ratio than the Barca man with one net buster every 134 minutes. Now 24 years of age Vinicius is one of the best players on the planet and, while he has played much of his career as a wide man and has scored roughly a goal every three games, he is becoming more potent and, much like the great Cristiano Ronaldo, goals are rapidly becoming a bigger part of his game.
And then, of course there is Vinicius’ club mate and France captain Kylian Mbappe. Earlier in the season, when Los Blancos’ La Liga 2024 results were not keeping up with the Catalans, there was some question as to whether the arrival of Mbappe in Madrid had unbalanced the reigning champions, and the jury may still be out. The answer will become clear by the end of the campaign but for now, Mbappe’s contribution has been strong but not year spectacular. He is in joint fifth place in the race for the Pichichi on seven goals and it would be an incredible feat for him to make up the eight goals shortfall on Lewandowski; but I think he is probably the only man with a realistic chance, however small.
If Lewi does have time out of the team, and no-one outside Madrid would wish that on him, then Mbappe would be my pick as the biggest threat.
Also in the leading group we have two non Clasico strikers banging the goals in. Osasuna’s 33 year old Croatian target man Ante Budmir has made a superb start with eight goals from 14 games and, with 41 goals in 106 matches for Osasuna he is a proven goal scorer. And another player enjoying the autumn of his career, 31 year old Ayoze Perez, is level with Mbappe on seven goals, playing just nine games for Villarreal. He has earned international recognition late in his career, and Perez has scored two goals in four appearances for Spain.
So there you have it folks, the six players with seven goals or more so far, with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal next in line on five. Will the Pichichi go to Osasuna or Villarreal?
No.
Will the Pichichi land in Barcelona or Real Madrid?
Yes. And almost certainly in Catalonia I’d say.
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