Pichichi battle: Barcelona ace stays ahead as Kylian Mbappé misses chance to close gap | OneFootball

FC Barcelona had to fight hard to get all three points from their last La Liga game against Las Palmas. After a goalless first half, the Catalans were able to get two goals in the second half as Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, two substitutes brought on by Hansi Flick, got on the scoresheet.

The Blaugranes would be quite happy with their win in this game, as it allowed them to retain the top spot in La Liga.

However, the striker Robert Lewandowski might have been somewhat disappointed as he was unable to get a goal, and further widen the gap that he enjoys at the top of the PIchichi table with 20 goals.

Luckily, Mundo Deportivo notes that this inability to score in this game did not hurt the Pole too much as his main rival in the Pichichi race, Kylian Mbappé, was also unable to score in his side’s game against Girona.

Real Madrid won that game 2-0, with Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior scoring the two goals. The French forward could have got one to his name, but his two big chances ended up being saved by the goalkeeper.

As things stand, the Frenchman has 17 La Liga goals to his name, 3 less than the Pole’s 20. Following Mbappé as three players, Raphinha, Ante Budimir (Osasuna), and Oihan Sancet (Athletic Club), all with 13 goals.

Lewandowski got a good head start over his predicted rival for the Pichich title at the start of the season, as he had 14 goals after the first 12 games, in which Mbappe was able to score only 6. However, in the following 13 games, the Pole has added only 6 more goals, while the Frenchman has added 11.

Thus, the Pichichi race remains highly heated, and fans will be keeping an eye on this competition as well in addition to the league race in which Barcelona and Real Madrid are engaged.