Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski is facing a big challenge, but he is very close to accomplishing it.
At 36 years old, the veteran striker, who recently completed a century of goals in the Champions League, is still in prime form and could become the top scorer across Europe’s major leagues in 2024.
With 40 goals to his name, Lewandowski leads the rankings and still has one more game to play — today, against Atletico Madrid, which will conclude the first half of the season.
Impressing scoring season
The Polish forward has been impressive this year, scoring 17 goals in the first half of 2024. His consistent performance has made him a key figure in every competition he has participated in.
He started the year with a goal for Barcelona against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey and followed that up with another in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Robert Lewandowski has scored the most goals in 2024 so far. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Lewandowski, who will continue at Barcelona beyond the current season, did not miss the chance to find the net in La Liga or the Champions League.
Though he did not score against PSG in the quarter-finals, he did manage to score against Napoli in the round of 16.
With 16 goals in La Liga and 7 in the Champions League, he currently leads the top scorer charts in both competitions this season.
Lewandowski’s competition
Behind him is Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, who has scored 39 goals so far at 31 years old. However, Kane has no more matches left this year to add to his tally, making it difficult for him to surpass Lewandowski.
The man most likely to challenge Lewandowski for the title is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. At 24, Haaland has scored 37 goals and still has three more games to play this year, giving him a chance to close the gap.
Following Haaland, Jonathan David of Lille and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe have each scored 35 goals, still five behind Lewandowski.
With the year winding down, Lewandowski remains in control of the race for the top scorer title, but the competition is fierce, and the final games could determine who finishes as Europe’s leading goal scorer in 2024.