English

Closest Pichichi race in over 20 years

https://www.futbolmundial.com/ With only eight games left until the end of the LALIGA EA SPORTS 2023/24 season, the race to be crowned the competition’s top scorer is very open.

There is now a three-way tie at the top of the standings for this season’s Pichichi Trophy, the award given to the top scorer, as Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Girona FC’s Artem Dovbyk and Girona FC’s Ante Budimir CA Osasuna, they have scored 16 goals each.

It is the closest Pichichi race at this point in the season for more than two decades.

Since the 2001/02 season, there has not been a triple tie at the top of this classification at this point in the season, when Patrick Kluivert, from FC Barcelona, Catanha, from RC Celta, and Fernando Morientes, from Real Madrid, were also tied at 16 goals each, in their case at the end of matchday 31. Curiously, none of them lifted the prestigious individual trophy, since Diego Tristán, from RC Deportivo, won the award in the last games.

A similar situation could also arise in 2023/24, with the top trio being closely pursued by several more forwards. Borja Mayoral, from Getafe CF, has 15 goals, although a serious injury prevents him from increasing that number. Next comes Álvaro Morata, from Atlético de Madrid, with 14 goals, having had one less game, while Gorka Guruzeta, from Athletic Club, Alexander Sørloth, from Villarreal CF, and Robert Lewandowski, forward from FC Barcelona, who won the trophy on Last year, they totaled 13 goals.

It’s a truly fascinating race, and victory for anyone other than Lewandowski would mark the player’s first Pichichi Trophy. If Dovbyk or Budimir win the trophy, it would be the first Pichichi Trophy for Girona FC or CA Osasuna. Furthermore, no Englishman, Ukrainian or Croatian has ever won the award, so it would also be a historic triumph in this sense.

There is a long way to go in this race, and it is very difficult to predict who the winner will be. Bellingham, in his first season in Spain, has been first or co-first since he scored on his debut with Real Madrid, back on the first matchday, but the Englishman has not seen the net since matchday 24 and knows that he needs to continue increasing his tally to have options.

Subir