Lewandowski, Xavi’s ‘killer’
The Pole has only needed two months to become the top scorer of Xavi’s reign, with 17 goals. He already sits ahead of Aubameyang by five.
Robert Lewandowski has only needed twelve games to become the best striker of the Xavi era. Until the arrival of the Polish frontman, the honour fell to Gabonese forward Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who in six months fired in twelve goals (10 in La Liga and 2 in the Europa League). But Lewandowski has broken all the moulds: in 16 games he has already managed to bag 17 goals, the latest one last Sunday (23 October) against Athletic Club. Such remarkable numbers make him the favourite for the ‘pichichi’, Spain’s top scorer award: he has 12 goals, five more than his closest rivals in the table, Spaniards Borja Iglesias and Joselu. In the Champions League, he also leads the table with 5 goals in 4 games, although his and Barcelona’s days in the top competition could be numbered in the coming weeks, barring an unexpected miracle.
Thanks to the 17 goals that Lewandowski has scored, Xavi’s Barcelona has already exceeded 100 goals during the manager’s time at the club; specifically, they have amassed 101 goals in 52 games, scoring an average of almost two goals per game. Of these 101 goals, 78 have been scored in La Liga, 8 in the Champions League, 10 in the Europa League, four in the Copa del Rey and two in the Spanish Super Cup.
FC Barcelona’s most reliable forwards
After Lewandowski and Aubameyang, the third most prolific player in front of goal in the Xavi era is Ferran Torres, with ten goals, closely followed by Memphis Depay and Pedri, both with 8. Ousmane Dembélé is also on the list of top scorers, with six goals, level with Luuk de Jong, who managed to become somewhat of a fan-favourite thanks to his goals ‘in extremis’. Next in the list are Ansu Fati and Frenkie de Jong, with five goals each; Ronald Araújo and Jordi Alba both have three.
Then comes a long list of players who have scored two goals: Nico, Jutglà, Gavi, Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets. And finally, those who have contributed to Xavi’s Barcelona with a solitary goal are: Coutinho, Abde, Alves, Piqué, Riqui Puig, Raphinha, Eric and Kessié.
A total of 24 players have played a role in Xavi’s side now boasting 101 goals. In fact, of the current squad, only Koundé, Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Bellerín and Balde have yet to see their name on the scoresheet, but considering that they are all defenders, this is relatively normal.