Less than 24 hours after Kylian Mbappé had scored twice in Real Madrid’s 3-2 win over Leganés, Robert Lewandowski responded with a brace of his own. It’s been like this all season. While Lewandowski and Mbappé started the 2024/25 campaign with question marks against them for different reasons, both forwards can’t stop finding the net.
It’s an individual duel that is reminiscent of the peak Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo days when the pair dominated Spanish and European football. The rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid was defined by the goalscoring exploits of the two best players in the world for years. They drove each other on.
Between 2010 and 2021, the Pichichi (the award handed to LaLiga’s top scorer every season) was shared exclusively between Messi and Ronaldo. Now, Lewandowski and Mbappé are the ones scoring goals for fun, certainly in the case of the former who remains one of his generation’s best finishers even at the age of 36.
Lewandowski and Mbappé aren’t quite putting up peak Messi or Ronaldo numbers – it’s worth remembering Messi scored 60 goals in all competitions in the 2011/12 season while Ronaldo scored over 50 for three seasons in a row around the same time – but they are very much providing the cutting edge as this season’s Spanish title race comes to a head.
There’s just three points between Barca and Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga. Until recently, Atlético Madrid were also part of the title equation. A run of just three wins in 10 leagues match, however, has seen Diego Simeone’s team drop off the pace. It would take a monumental effort for Atleti to claw back a nine-point deficit at this stage.
And so the race between Spain’s top two could come down to goals – who can score the most. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are far stronger in the attack than they are at the back. They have made the bet that no matter how defensively vulnerable they are, Lewandowski and Mbappé will get them out of trouble.
As a strategy, it’s working out well for both. Lewandowski is currently leading the Pichichi pursuit with 25 goals in just 28 games. Impressively, the Polish striker is only slightly out-performing his Expected Goals (xG) of 24.0 for the season, suggesting he is converting at a sustainable rate. His goalscoring stands a good chance of continuing until the end of the season.
Mbappé’s xG for the season stands at 19.5 from which he has found the back of the net 22 times. There were questions over how Carlo Ancelotti would integrate the Frenchman into his forward line, but Mbappé has provided an emphatic answer time and time again. He is now Los Blancos’ main man in the final third.
“It’s difficult to compare different players,” said Ancelotti when asked if Mbappé could become one of Real Madrid’s best-ever players after matching Ronaldo’s tally of 22 goals in his first season at the club. “What I can hope for is that Mbappé can achieve what Cristiano Ronaldo achieved at Real Madrid. I think he has the possibility to do it. If he does that, he’ll be a legend at Real Madrid like Cristiano Ronaldo is.”
Of course, Mbappé and Ronaldo are very different players, as are Mbappé and Lewandowski. While the Frenchman likes to make cutting runs across the pitch from a starting position on the left, the Pole is more of a penalty box poacher. Either way, Lewandowski and Mbappé are perfect for their respective teams.
Barca are quite simply the most exhilarating team in Europe right now. Between Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Pedri and the rest, the Catalans boast an electric frontline. Hansi Flick has reinvigorated a team that had lost its way under Xavi Hernández. Barcelona play on the edge at times, but the results speak for themselves.
Real Madrid aren’t quite so clear in their identity, but have the talent to decide a match at any given moment. Mbappé has found his best form despite missing more Big Chances (22) than any other player in LaLiga this season. As good as 26-year-old has been in his first season in Spain, it’s scary to consider he could get even better as he grows more comfortable.
Ultimately, the finale of the 2024/25 campaign won’t be remembered for the player that lifts the Pichichi, but the team that clinches the title itself. That’s what really matters to Barcelona and Real Madrid. Nonetheless, Lewandowski and Mbappé are providing the firepower in the never-ending war between Spain’s two biggest clubs.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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