However, the early signs are that Robert Lewandowski has rediscovered his best form in this rampant Barcelona side. The Blaugrana have won their opening five league games and Robert has been at the forefront of that success.
Lewandowski scored 19 league goals last season, which is a respectable tally for most strikers. However, it marked the first time the Polish striker failed to reach the 20-goal mark since the 2014/15 season and only the second time in the last 13 seasons. Robert leads the La Liga scoring charts after five games this season and we assess his chances of staying there.
- Lewandowski has an xG of 5.4 after just five La Liga matches.
- Barcelona look menacing under Hansi Flick, having scored an average of 3.4 games in the league.
- In Lewandowski’s last season under Flick, he scored 41 goals in the Bundesliga.
Market | Odds |
Robert Lewandowski to be La Liga top scorer |
Odds courtesy of 10bet. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
Creative Barcelona are Helping Lewandowski Thrive
Barcelona never looked like pipping Real Madrid to the title last season, so the board turned to Hansi Flick to help close the gap on their great rivals. The new manager has had the desired effect. Barca have a 100% record in La Liga after five matches, which is largely thanks to the potency of their attack.
The Blaugrana are averaging 3.4 goals per game in the league and have scored at least two goals in all of their outings. The underlying data is also encouraging. Their xG of 14.96 is greater than any other side’s in the Spanish top flight. Only Bayer Leverkusen and PSG have a higher xG per game than Barcelona at this stage.
Robert Lewandowski has benefitted from that creativity. He has plenty of support from the wide areas, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha in fine fettle. Lewandowski has an xG of 5.4 as a result. This is 30.15% of the xG he accumulated last season despite the five games played accounting for just 13.16% of La Liga matches in this campaign.
Lewandowski Can Beat Mbappe to the Pichichi
Hansi Flick faltered in his last job with the German national team, but he was hugely successful at Bayern Munich, when Robert Lewandowski led the attack. At Bayern, Flick won the treble in the 2019/20 season before winning the league the following season.
Lewandowski was prolific throughout his time at Bayern Munich but it wasn’t until Flick’s final season that he broke the Bundesliga scoring record of 40 goals set by Gerd Muller back in 1972. Robert scored 41 goals in 29 league games in that campaign from an XG of 31.3. If the striker plays in all 38 of Barcelona’s league games this season, he is projected to have an xG of 41.04. Lewandowski is currently the league’s top scorer with four goals and looks set to have the chances to score many more.
Since Lionel Messi departed La Liga at the end of the 2021 season, no player has reached the 30-goal mark. Lewandowski won the Pichichi with a total of 23 goals in the 22/23 goals in the 22/23 campaign and he is on course to beat that record. Kylian Mbappe is the odds-on favourite to be the league’s top scorer, but he hasn’t had 30 or more league goals since the 2018/19 season. There’s definitely some value on Lewandowski beating his rival to the crown here.