The tussle for the top scorer award in La Liga "Pichichi" is raging between Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski and Real Madrid's top scorer Karim Benzema in a race that could be described as another "Clasico" between the two stars.
With Barcelona on the brink of regaining the LaLiga title that has been absent from the club's coffers since the 2018-2019 season, as they are 12 points clear of rivals Real Madrid, Lewandowski and Benzema have added some excitement to the goalscorer race with 11 rounds to go.
Lewandowski is the top scorer in LaLiga with 17 goals, and is only 3 goals behind the "brilliant" and "incandescent" Benzema last week.
This conflict enters a new round starting tonight, as Real hosts Villarreal at home to Santiago Bernabeu for the 28th week of the tournament.
This season:
• Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona – 27 goals
• Karim Benzema at Real Madrid – 21 goals
On Wednesday they meet ⚔️🔥 pic.twitter.com/AUdDH7Pzoz
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) April 3, 2023
Benzema, 35, came at the top of the list of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real who confirmed that his team is still thinking about the league title despite the difficulty of the task.
The French striker enters the Villarreal match ecstatic with two consecutive hat-tricks (2 hat-tricks) the first against Valladolid in the last round, which he scored within 7 minutes (29, 32, 36) in the match that ended with six "royal".
The second was scored by rivals Barcelona in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, through which he led the "Merengue" to the final.
Mundo Deportivo points out that while Barcelona's hat-trick is not counted in the league's top scorer race, it will be an additional incentive for the French striker to clamp down on Lewandowski.
It is possible that Villarreal is the new victim of Benzema's brilliance recently, and the Spanish newspaper does not rule out that the Frenchman fingerprints on his third treble within 9 days.
Summary of Real Madrid's six-goal against Real Valladolid in the fastest hat-trick for the government Karim Benzema 📺 #RealMadridRealValladolid 6-0 pic.twitter.com/3xeyBoucV4
— LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) April 2, 2023
Lewandowski, 34, has been leading since the third round with 4 goals, and helped put his team at the top of the table with 71 points.
The Polish striker has missed four of his last 4 games (Almería, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid), including one due to injury (Valencia) and then regained his goalscoring sense against Ilyce and scored twice.
The Polish striker can continue his hobby in scoring, when Barcelona receives neighbors Girona, for the same round of the "LaLiga" next Monday.
Lewandowski was affected by the lack of offensive supply, with teammates Ousmane Dembele and Pedri Gonzalez absent due to injury, yet he remains the top scorer.
💙⚽❤ Lewandowski @lewy_official the "scoring machine"
🔜 #ElClásico 🔜#LaLigaSantander @fcbarcelona_ara pic.twitter.com/DlPaxTF3zW
— LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) March 16, 2023
The Polish star has scored 13 goals in his first 12 league games, but his numbers have dropped to just four in his last 4 games.
He has scored 17 goals in 23 games (0.73 goals per game), while Benzema has scored 14 goals in 17 games (0.82), giving him a slight advantage in the average scoring.
Lewandowski scored 17 times without doing so from the penalty spot, having missed one against Almería, while Benzema scored 5 penalties and missed one.