Barcelona superstar duo lead the Pichichi Trophy race midway through the season | OneFootball

The 2024/25 La Liga season has reached its midway stage, with the campaign currently halted for the holidays.

After having led the table for the majority of the season, Barcelona have slid down the standings in recent weeks and find themselves in the third position behind Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

One of the key reasons behind the Catalans’ recent struggles is the misfiring form of star striker Robert Lewandowski.

Lewandowski leads Pichichi race

The race to win the 2024/2025 Pichichi, the award for the top scorer in La Liga, is shaping up to be thrilling, with two major contenders aiming to succeed Artem Dovbyk, the winner of last season’s award with 24 goals.

The battle for the Pichichi sees the seasoned Lewandowski, who won the award in the 2022/2023 season, aiming to reclaim the prize.

On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe, who has moved from PSG to Real Madrid, is also a strong contender, having won the Ligue 1 top scorer award for the last six seasons and hoping to extend his winning streak in Spain.

Lewandowski, Raphinha battling for Pichichi. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Despite a drop in his goal-scoring form in recent matches, Lewandowski remains at the top of the La Liga goal-scoring table with 16 goals.

His closest rival happens to be his Barcelona teammate Raphinha, who is second with 11 goals. Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s marquee summer signing Kylian Mbappe sits in third place with 10 goals.

With the first half of the season almost completed, Lewandowski leads the race with 16 goals, thanks largely to his impressive start to the season, although he has only scored twice in his last seven matches.

This dip in form has allowed his competitors to close the gap, though Raphinha, who is in second place, is still some distance behind with 11 goals.

Meanwhile, Mbappe has experienced an upward trend towards the end of 2024, moving into third place with 10 goals, the same as Ante Budimir of Osasuna.

In fifth place is his fellow Real Madrid player, Vinicius Jr, who has scored 8 goals, the same as Ayoze Perez (Villarreal), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), and Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid).