Barcelona cruised to victory in the final game of their domestic treble-winning season, defeating Athletic Club 3–0 thanks in large part to a brace from Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski's two goals inside 20 minutes added a hint of drama to the conclusion of the Pichichi and European Golden Boot race, but as the minutes ticked on, it became abundantly clear that Kylian Mbappé would emerge triumphant in both goalscoring achievements.
Mbappé scored nine goals in Real Madrid's last five La Liga games. Meanwhile, after leading the Pichichi race for the bulk of 2024-25, a dip in form compounded with a hamstring injury saw Lewandowski enter the final game of the season without scoring a league goal since March.
The Frenchman's late season surge saw him overtake Lewandowski in the Pichichi race and Viktor Gyökeres in the European Golden Boot race, securing two prestigious individual awards in his debut season with Los Blancos.
In the aftermath of Barcelona' victory vs. Athletic, Lewandowski was asked about coming just short of capturing his second Pichichi award in three seasons with Barcelona.
"I feel a little sad that I couldn’t win the Pichichi award," Lewandowski said in his post-match interview. "I struggled a bit to return to my best shape after my injury, but that’s normal."
During Barcelona's title celebrations a week ago, Lewandowski had already mentioned that individual accolades matter very little if there isn't any team success that goes with it and that what's really important are the three trophies Barça collected this season.
Although he came short of conquering his third European Golden Boot and second Pichichi, Lewandowski's brace saw him eclipse the 100-goal mark with Barcelona, the 22nd player in club history to achieve such a feat and the fifth fastest, taking him just 147 games.
Since reuniting with Hansi Flick this season, Lewandowski returned to being one of the sport's elite center forwards at 36-years-old and he's poised to once again spearhead Barcelona's attack come 2025-26.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Robert Lewandowski Reacts to Kylian Mbappe Winning Pichichi, Still Makes Barcelona History.
