Robert Lewandowski continued his fine form and earned La Liga leaders Barcelona a 1-0 win over Getafe on Wednesday.
The Polish forward struck from close range in the first half to maintain Barca's 100 per cent record in the league so far this season with their seventh victory.
Barcelona dominated despite not being able to add to their lead and restored a four-point advantage over Real Madrid, who beat Alaves on Tuesday, where Kylian Mbappe was on target.
Mbappe's transfer to Real hogged the headlines over the summer, and while the French superstar initially struggled to hit the ground running, he now has five La Liga goals.
But it is the return to scoring form of Lewandowski that is adding a nice little sub-plot to the Barca-Real rivalry.
Lewandowski's purple patch
After eight trophy-and-goal-laden years at Bayern, Lewandoswki joined Barca for a reported fee of €50 million in July 2022.
A return of 23 goals saw him win the Pichichi Trophy – awarded to La Liga's top scorer – as well as help Barca to a first Spanish title since 2019.
Their reign was short-lived as Real Madrid stormed to last season's championship, finishing 10 points ahead of Barcelona. Lewandowski's return of 19 league goals was his lowest since his first season at Bayern in 2014/15.
A bicep injury picked up days before Euro 2024 limited Lewandowski's involvement for Poland, who crashed out at the group phase. Lewandowski is Poland's most capped player and all-time record goalscorer, with 82 goals in 151 appearances.
Many feared a new manager, albeit one Lewandowski knew well, would jettison the prolific but ageing Pole in favour of fresh blood.
Rumours of Lewandowski's demise appear misplaced though. Seven goals in La Liga already has the 36-year-old striker leading the scoring charts, seemingly rejuvenated under Hansi Flick, who took over the Barca hot seat from Xavi over the summer.
"For me he's the best number nine of the last 10 years," Flick, who also coached him at Bayern Munich, told reporters. "His job is in front of the goal, in the box, and he's doing that great."
Two of Lewandowski's Barcelona teammates are also in the top five scorers: Brazil international Raphinha (5) and Spain winger Lamine Yamal (3).
The numbers
Lewandowski's seven goals have come in as many games. The Barca star has registered 28 shots in wins over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Rayo Vallecano, Real Valladolid, Girona, Villarreal and Getafe, giving him a conversion rate of 25 per cent.
By comparison, Mbappe has taken 39 shots for his five goals in the same amount of games (five wins, two draws). Three of those have come from the penalty spot, giving him a conversion of just 13 per cent. Mbappe has a slightly higher shot accuracy (49% to Lewandowski's 46%).
Lewandowski has scored at a clip of one every 83 minutes while Mbappe's have come every 122 minutes over seven matches.
Another snapping at the heels of Lewandowski and Mbappe is Villarreal forward Ayoze Perez. The former Newcastle United player has scored four goals from only 12 shots in six games, giving him an average of a goal every 85 minutes.
What next?
Next up for Barcelona is a trip to Osasuna on Saturday while Real Madrid face city rivals Atletico at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday.
Osasuna, in seventh, have won three of their seven Liga games while fourth-placed Atletico are unbeaten in six games with three wins and three draws for Diego Simeone's men.
Atletico travel to Celta Vigo on Thursday.
