After a slow start in a white shirt, Kylian Mbappé is finally giving Robert Lewandowski some competition in La Liga's scoring race.
What looked like a runaway early on for La Liga's Golden Boot is now gearing up to be a fight between two of the best goalscorers in the world. Lewandowski got off to a massive lead, scoring 15 goals in the first four months of the 2024–25 season, but he has since stumbled along with Barcelona. The Poland international managed just two La Liga goals in December and January, leaving the door open for Mbappé to make up some ground.
Over the last two months, the Frenchman has begun to look more and more like the player who scored 52 goals for club and country last campaign. In fact, he has found the back of the net five times in his last two La Liga matches alone.
Now, Mbappé trails Lewandowski by just two goals in the Pichichi race. The Barcelona striker still reigns supreme atop the La Liga scoring charts with 17 goals, but Mbappé is close behind with 15.
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Both players added to their tallies at the weekend. Mbappé scored his first hat trick for Real Madrid while Lewandowski scored one of Barcelona's seven goals against Valencia. Raphinha also got himself on the scoresheet, but remains in third place with 12 La Liga goals so far.
Between Lewandowski and Mbappé, the 36-year-old has experience on his side. After all, Lewandowski took home La Liga's Golden Boot in the 2022–23 season. Even as Barcelona struggled last season, he still finished third in scoring.
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Mbappé, though, has all the momentum at the moment. He leads Real Madrid across all competitions with 22 goals and is showing no signs of slowing down as his connection with Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior grows.
After he bagged his first hat trick in a white shirt, the 26-year-old shared the following post on Instagram:
"We all want the team to win," Mbappé said following Real Madrid's 0–3 victory against Real Valladolid. "If I'm top scorer, great—I've done it a lot of times in my career—but winning the league is the most important thing for me."
With Real Madrid seven points clear of Barcelona atop the table, it is clear that Mbappé's individual prowess is helping Los Blancos in their Spanish title defense. Lewandowski's recent struggles, on the other hand, have hurt the Catalans' chances at dethroning Real Madrid.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kylian Mbappe Targets Robert Lewandowski As La Liga Scoring Race Heats Up Between Clasico Rivals.
