As banners unfurled and tributes echoed through the Santiago Bernabeu, Sunday’s La Liga finale was steeped in nostalgia, appreciation, and quiet regret.&nbsp;While the match carried no title implications for Real Madrid, it became a night of personal milestones and farewell tributes — most notably for&nbsp;Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric, who were celebrated for their enduring legacies. Yet,&nbsp;on the pitch, it was Kylian Mbappe who turned the page with a performance that earned him a significant, albeit bittersweet, accolade.



The French superstar&nbsp;netted twice against Real Sociedad&nbsp;to lead Madrid to a&nbsp;2-0 win&nbsp;in their final La Liga fixture of the 2024-25 season. It was a performance that brought a measure of closure to a year without major silverware — but also propelled Mbappe to the top of Spain’s scoring charts.



The emotion in the stands didn’t distract from the business on the field.&nbsp;The Frenchman, whose first season in white has lacked major trophies, had one more thing to play for: the prestigious&nbsp;Pichichi, awarded to La Liga’s top scorer.



<h2>The goals that crowned a top scorer</h2>



Mbappe started brightly, though he missed early chances and had a poor penalty attempt saved by Unai Marrero. However, he showed sharp instincts to convert the rebound and give Madrid the lead — and with it, take control of the Golden Boot race.



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His second goal came after&nbsp;Vinicius Junior, returning from injury, squared the ball for an easy finish, marking Mbappe’s final strike of the league season.&nbsp;With this brace, he effectively sealed the Pichichi, as Barcelona’s&nbsp;Robert Lewandowski trailed by six goals and failed to score in the penultimate fixtures.



“With 31 goals, Mbappe now has a six-goal lead over Lewandowski on matchday 38 of La Liga,”&nbsp;reported&nbsp;Diario AS.&nbsp;“The Frenchman scored nine goals in his last five matches to take the lead in the scoring charts.”



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Position</th><th scope="col">Player name</th><th scope="col">Club</th><th scope="col">Total goals</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1.</td><td>Kylian Mbappe</td><td>Real Madrid</td><td>31</td></tr><tr><td>2.</td><td>Robert Lewandowski</td><td>Barcelona</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>3.</td><td>Ante Budimir</td><td>Osasuna</td><td>21</td></tr><tr><td>4.</td><td>Alexander Sorloth</td><td>Atletico Madrid</td><td>20</td></tr><tr><td>5.</td><td>Ayoze Perez</td><td>Villarreal</td><td>19</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<h2>Star’s shining but trophyless season</h2>



Despite the scoring crown,&nbsp;the 26-year-old first season in the Spanish capital will be remembered for its near-misses. Los Blancos finished&nbsp;second in La Liga, behind champions&nbsp;Barcelona, who also defeated them in the&nbsp;Copa del Rey&nbsp;and&nbsp;Spanish Super Cup&nbsp;finals.



“For Mbappe, the Pichichi will be a consolation prize, after a first season without major titles with the Casa Blanca,”&nbsp;said&nbsp;Mundo Deportivo. Instead, he leaves 2024-25 with only&nbsp;the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup&nbsp;— trophies of lesser significance in the grand scheme.

La Liga top goalscorers table: Kylian Mbappe seals Pichichi glory in Real Madrid’s debut season – Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona falls short

La Liga top goalscorers table: Kylian Mbappe seals Pichichi glory in Real Madrid’s debut season – Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona falls short - World Soccer Talk

Lewandowski denied: Mbappe ends La Liga season as top scorer

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As La Liga nears its dramatic conclusion, the biggest question isn’t just who will lift the league trophy—it’s who will walk away with the coveted&nbsp;Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the season’s top goalscorer. The tension is high, the goals are precious, and the protagonists are two of the game’s elite:&nbsp;Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe. But this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about pride, legacy, and a rivalry that now stretches far beyond the pitch.



It’s been a season of narratives, from the&nbsp;arrival of Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid&nbsp;to Barcelona’s resurgence under&nbsp;Hansi Flick. But now, a different El Clasico battle is taking center stage:&nbsp;the race for the Pichichi.



The French superstar turned La Liga on its head with a breathtaking performance in the last Clasico — scoring a hat-trick at Camp Nou, even as Real Madrid lost&nbsp;4-3. That personal triumph propelled Mbappe to the top of the scoring charts with&nbsp;27 league goals, overtaking Lewandowski, who stands at&nbsp;25.



More impressively,&nbsp;Mbappe now holds the all-time Real Madrid record for most goals in a debut season, surpassing the legendary&nbsp;Ivan Zamorano’s&nbsp;1992-93 mark. The 26-year-old has netted&nbsp;39 goals across all competitions, sending a strong message to his rivals.



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<h2>How Barcelona players plan to help Lewandowski take the lead again</h2>



On the other side of the rivalry,&nbsp;Robert Lewandowski&nbsp;finds himself at a crossroads. With&nbsp;25 goals in 31 appearances, the Polish striker has endured a worrying drought,&nbsp;last scoring in La Liga on March 30&nbsp;against Girona. A muscle injury, picked up in a clash with Celta Vigo, sidelined him for five crucial matches, stalling his momentum just as he approached his&nbsp;100th goal for Barcelona—a milestone he still hasn’t reached.



Despite his struggles, the&nbsp;Barcelona dressing room has rallied around him. According to&nbsp;El Nacional,&nbsp;the Blaugrana’s players have “vowed to feed him”&nbsp;in the remaining three matches of the season, hoping to tilt the Pichichi back in Lewandowski’s favor. The goal? Not just to crown their No. 9, but to&nbsp;deny Mbappe his first major individual accolade in Spain.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/02/22142105/Raphinha-Robert-Lewandowski-Lamine-Yamal-FC-Barcelona-1200x675-1200x675.webp" alt="Raphinha of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team&apos;s fourth goal with teammates Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal during the LaLiga match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on October 26, 2024 in Madrid, Spain." class="wp-image-556198" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></div></figure>



<h2>Penalties and controversy</h2>



There is more at stake than goals, the report adds. The atmosphere between the two camps is thick with tension. Barcelona players and staff are growing increasingly frustrated by what they see as&nbsp;refereeing ‘favoritism’ toward Real Madrid.



Statistically, the numbers back their argument. Los Blancos have been awarded&nbsp;13 penalties&nbsp;this season, converting many through the Frenchman, while Barca has had only&nbsp;six. Of&nbsp;Mbappe’s 27 goals,&nbsp;seven have come from the spot&nbsp;— more than double Lewandowski’s&nbsp;three penalties.



It’s a detail that hasn’t gone unnoticed in Catalonia. The talk around the club is that&nbsp;the 26-year-old’s goal tally is being padded, and there’s a sense of injustice that fuels their determination. “Lewandowski’s Pichichi is everyone’s business,”&nbsp;a source close to the Barca squad reportedly said, highlighting the unified desire to give their striker the boost he needs.

Kylian Mbappe dethrones Robert Lewandowski as La Liga top scorer — Barcelona gears up with secret weapon to stop Pichichi glory

Kylian Mbappe dethrones Robert Lewandowski as La Liga top scorer — Barcelona gears up with secret weapon to stop Pichichi glory - World Soccer Talk

<a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Nino.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3226" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Nino.jpg" alt="" width="361" height="500"></figure></div></a>“NINO, NINO, NINO!” chanted Los Chicharreros in the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López.&nbsp; When shouted aloud, the chant sounded like an onrushing ambulance through a traffic-jammed street, and for Getafe, who fell victim to the brilliance of Nino, they needed the assistance of EMT workers.
After a 0-0 draw at home to Real Valladolid last Saturday, a result most favored by new Valladolid entrenador and former Tenerife head man Javier Clemente, Tenerife stood seven points behind Málaga for the final place of safety in La Liga.&nbsp; The criticisms laid upon this team fell squarely on José Luis Oltra’s naïve tactics.&nbsp; In the same way that Tony Mowbray’s West Bromwich Albion team in last year’s Premier League was deemed too naïve as they were relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship, Oltra’s Tenerife incorporated an open style that needed clinical finishers in the front line to be successful because there would be several chances for their opponents to capitalize on the counter-attack.
Nino and Alejandro Alfaro scored forty-nine goals between them in the Segunda División last season, and Nino’s twenty-nine goals earned him the Pichichi trophy as the highest goal scorer in the second division. &nbsp;Seventeen goals for the pair in the top flight this season is not a bad return, but when their team has conceded the most goals in La Liga, seventeen is simply not enough.

No single match illustrates Tenerife’s frustration more than their 0-5 humbling by Barcelona at home at the dawn of the new year.&nbsp; Through the first thirty-five minutes, the islanders completely outplayed the Blaugrana in every facet of the game, but Alfaro failed to exploit three wonderful opportunities, two of them created by Nino.
Tenerife’s high defensive line initially surprised Barça and put them off their game, but this gamble would soon prove to be suicidal, as Bojan Krkic’s blistering pace left the Tenerife defense in shambles, and Lionel Messi finished Bojan’s cutback pass with aplomb.
Sucker punched in the gut, the prudent play would have been to drop deeper and work more on the counter-attack.&nbsp; Call him brave or declare him stubborn, Oltra kept to his strategy, and at fulltime, Tenerife conceded five goals, including an Ezequiel Luna own goal and a Messi hat-trick.
While José Luis Oltra has somewhat toned down his offensively aggressive tactics since that match, the flair associated with this team has not left them.&nbsp; Consequently, Tenerife still had not won away from home all season, an unwanted feat only shared by a few teams in all of the European leagues.
Tenerife righted this wrong on Tuesday evening when they went to Asturias and defeated Sporting Gijón 0-2 with that same end-to-end mentality instilled by Oltra.&nbsp; Unfortunately for Tenerife, their compatriots in the bottom three, Xerez and Real Valladolid, also won in the mid-week.&nbsp; Racing de Santander, one of the teams teetering just above the relegation zone, scored a 3-1 victory over Espanyol with the help of two deserved penalties, both of whom were scored by Mohammed Tchité, to further complicate the situation for Tenerife.
Málaga, however, heeded the bottom three’s protestations of slowing down their point accumulation.&nbsp; Two points in their last five contests left the Andalucians only three points above Tenerife and the drop zone.
Tenerife had to keep their focus on Getafe and away from the other matches affecting their standing. No one understood this more than Juan Francisco Martínez, otherwise known as Nino.
Nino has played every minute in every match for Tenerife this season, an astonishing accomplishment in this modern age, where squad rotation and injuries beset even the fittest of players.&nbsp; Standing at a relatively minuscule 5′ 7″, a center forward like Nino would not strike fear into the hearts of central defenders.&nbsp; Tossed around often due to his slight frame, Nino fought through these nicks and knocks to lead the line every single minute he plays on the pitch.&nbsp; With the season on the line, his hard work came to fruition with a hat-trick that will be remembered by Los Chicharreros for many years.
After Pedro León scored early for Getafe, Nino’s equalizer on the half-hour mark was the result, from all the different ways he can score, of a header!&nbsp; A seriously demented betting man would have gone away with bucketful of cash for predicting a Nino header, but Román Martínez’s perfectly weighted cross from deep in the right flank found a completely unmarked Nino in middle of the penalty area.&nbsp; David Belenguer and David Cortés stood frozen as Nino rose in the air between them.&nbsp; Of course, it would have to be unchallenged for Nino to score a header, but the box score will not indicate that he had enough room to build a house with all the space that the Getafe central defenders gave him.
His second goal to give Tenerife the 2-1 lead showed his technical ability to control a ball in the air.&nbsp; Marc Bertrán headed a hopeful, looping ball into the penalty box, and nothing seemed to come of it; however, Nino kept himself onside while the Getafe defenders were heading forward, and Nino found himself all alone in the box.&nbsp; He had to take down the lofted header softly, and his first touch was nothing short of immaculate.&nbsp; It took a bounce, and he whacked it to the left far post, where Jordi Codina could only watch as it passed by him into the back of the net.
Getafe would score to even the game at 2-2 several minutes later, and it could have been a crushing blow to this club that continues to fight for its La Liga life.&nbsp; Nino would have none of that negative behavior, and in the 76th minute, exactly a minute after Javier Casquero headed the tying goal for Getafe, Nino completed his hat-trick to whisk Tenerife back into a lead they would not relinquish.
Alejandro Alfaro and Nino combined yet another time, with Alfaro perfecting a through ball that sliced through the Getafe defensive line.&nbsp; Nino still had work to do, as Jordi Codina rushed off his line to attempt to clear the ball away from Nino outside of his area.&nbsp; His third goal exhibited his calm composure, dribbling to his left to avoid a sliding, lunging Codina and slotting the ball into the unguarded goal.
Three goals.&nbsp; Three different goals.&nbsp; One outcome: three points for a thankful Tenerife.
Tenerife would find out later that Málaga and Real Valladolid would draw 0-0, and Xerez could only draw 2-2 at home against Racing de Santander, so the Nino hat-trick meant more than an isolated three points.&nbsp; Tenerife is now only one point behind Málaga for the magic 17th position, and 16th is not too far away with Real Zaragoza only two points ahead of El Tete with five games remaining.
In a place where two well-known British names, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/apr/18/volcano-iceland-trapped-tenerife">Gill Hornby</a> and a certain <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8627831.stm">Barcelona striker</a> from the 1980s, were forced to stay in Tenerife a little longer due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, they both could have enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López to witness two desperate teams in one of the premier matches of the second half of the season.
“Riki-raca, zumba-raca, sim-bomba; ra-ra-ra, Tenerife, Tenerife, y nadie mas!” the fans sung throughout the match and after their team came out victorious.&nbsp; The first part is merely a set of rhyming words, but the latter half translates as, “Tenerife, Tenerife, and no one else.”&nbsp; If Tenerife rises above the relegation zone and extends their stay in La Liga, Los Chicharrones may alter this chant in honor of Nino, “Nino, Nino, y nadie mas!”
Fueras de Juego
– Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop might be better with his head than his hands, and his hands are quite superb.&nbsp; His best individual moment in his career occurred in the Round of 16 of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup when his last-gasp header sent the tie against Shakhtar Donetsk into extra time, which Sevilla would win 3-2.&nbsp; Sevilla would go on and lift the UEFA Cup trophy for the second consecutive year by defeating Espanyol on penalties in the final.
In the early Saturday kickoff, Sevilla led Sporting Gijón 2-0 when Sporting central defender Grégory Arnolin headed the ball on target from a corner.&nbsp; The header came so quickly from a short distance that Palop could not get his hands up in time to parry it away.&nbsp; Instead, he decided on the next best option: counter Grégory’s header with a header of his own.&nbsp; It was just as effective as if he used his hands to slap it away, and Sevilla would eventually add a third to win 3-0.&nbsp; In dire situations, Sevilla should use Andrés Palop as a center forward.
– If one would want to introduce people to the flair and skill of Spanish football, do not show them a tape of the drab 0-0 draw between Deportivo La Coruña and Almería from this Sunday afternoon.&nbsp; Two teams going nowhere, and the match fit their paths.&nbsp; When there were decent opportunities to score, both teams scorned them with such poor technique that it was literally laughable.&nbsp; The fans at El Riazor did not share the same mirth.
– The champagne for Barcelona’s La Liga title can be put back on ice for the time being, as their 0-0 draw at derby neighbors Espanyol, combined with Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Valencia, means that Real has shaved Barça’s lead to a mere point.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola’s 4-4-2 did not work against Espanyol, and Inter Milan boss José Mourinho surely took some notes on how Espanyol flooded the midfield to prevent Xavi’s distribution across the final third of the pitch.&nbsp; The absence of Andrés Iniesta may loom large for the Blaugrana as they continue their drive for a domestic and European cup double for the second straight year.

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_2345" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2345" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2345" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2009/11/Camp-Nou.jpg" alt="Photo Courtesy of Oh-Barcelona" width="500" height="375"></figure></div>Photo Courtesy of Oh-Barcelona</div>
In American sports, pundits and journalists throw around the phrase “trap game” when describing a game that would be looked over in anticipation of more important matters in the immediate future.&nbsp; With a pivotal UEFA Champions League fixture with Inter Milan on Tuesday and El Clásico on Sunday against Real Madrid, it would be human nature to suggest that Barcelona would somewhat neglect their due diligence and not focus solely on their match against Athletic Bilbao.&nbsp; Although the 1-1 final at San Mamés may intimate a supposed lack of focus, it is part of a plateau trend since Valencia outplayed them in mid-October.
Excluding their home and away legs with Segunda División B side Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona has only won twice in their last seven matches in all competitions.&nbsp; They only lost once in that stretch, an inconceivable 1-2 result at the Camp Nou by the hands of Rubin Kazan, but heading into the defining week of their campaign up to this point, Barcelona needs to stem this mediocre tide in order to achieve their desired results against Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
In Barcelona’s two wins against Real Zaragoza and Mallorca, they capitalized on their numerous chances within the first half hour to seize the match by the throat and force the opposition to come forward.&nbsp; Both Real Zaragoza and Mallorca played into the hands of Barcelona and tried to play open and expansive football only to see Barcelona break them on the counter-attack.&nbsp; To say that a team needs to score early to demoralize the opposition is an obvious observation, but in Barcelona’s case, when they score that early goal, the dam breaks apart.&nbsp; Scoring six against Zaragoza and four against Mallorca proves this point.&nbsp; Another common thread with their two wins is the comfort of playing in front of their Blaugrana faithful at the Camp Nou.&nbsp; Again, another unequivocal truth: a team usually plays better at home.&nbsp; In La Liga, Barcelona has a 100% record at home, scoring nineteen while surrendering only five in five matches.
Their one loss to Rubin Kazan did come at home, but that match was an aberration compared to the rest of their matches in this seven game sample.&nbsp; In the opening minutes, Aleksandr Ryazantsev’s audacious and prodigious effort from nearly forty yards sent shock waves throughout Europe.&nbsp; After Zlatan Ibrahimovic responded with an equalizer early in the second half, order seemed to be restored in the universe, but when Rubin Kazan broke on the counter-attack and Gökdeniz Karadeniz converted his one opportunity, suddenly the champions looked vulnerable for the first time.
The one trait that Rubin Kazan possessed and no other opponent of Barcelona will live up to this season was their sheer physicality.&nbsp; One of the few ways to frustrate the orchestra is to close down their space in a robust manner.&nbsp; Evidenced by this match and the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal against Chelsea last season, mucking their flow is an effective tactic if otherwise unaesthetically pleasing.
Barcelona’s four draws to Valencia, Rubin Kazan away, Osasuna, and Athletic Bilbao are results of two intertwining factors.&nbsp; It is no coincidence that all of these results occurred away from home.&nbsp; Despite playing at home, Barcelona’s opposition proceeded with an away team train of thought: break forward when the situation presents itself but otherwise soak up the Catalan pressure.&nbsp; Because of this mentality, the cutting edge needed to unlock the defense has been blunted ever so slightly.
Thierry Henry has missed more than half of Barcelona’s matches, but Pedro Rodríguez shifted into his position quite nicely, learning on the job while taking the lessons from his Barcelona academy days, both under Pep Guardiola.&nbsp; Three of the top five contenders for the Pichichi Trophy as top scorer in La Liga currently play for Barcelona (Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Seydou Keita), and they lead La Liga with twenty-nine goals through eleven matches.&nbsp; Barcelona creates more goal-scoring opportunities than any other team in La Liga, and they spend a vast majority of the time in the opposition half, but they have squandered many of these chances.&nbsp; It gives their opponents an extra boost of confidence when they are able to keep them out of the back of net, whether it was because of their own defense or Barcelona’s poor finishing.
This mediocre stretch is analogous to a string of matches last season in February and March, where they lost the Catalan derby to struggling Espanyol and did not win in five consecutive matches in all competitions.&nbsp; The rest is history for that campaign, as Barça earned an unprecedented treble.&nbsp; Although the derby match with Real Madrid will grab most of the headlines this week, there will be another twenty-six rounds of football to decide the champion of Spain.&nbsp; There is a distinct possibility that Rubin Kazan will knock Barcelona out of the Champions League competition if they lose to Inter Milan on Tuesday.
Both these teams will know their fate before they kickoff as Rubin Kazan hosts Dynamo Kyiv two hours before the rest of Tuesday’s action.&nbsp; If Rubin Kazan defeats Dynamo Kyiv and Inter Milan defeats Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Barcelona can finish no higher than third in the group because Rubin has the tiebreaker edge over Barcelona.&nbsp; When they faced potential elimination in the Champions League last season, they rose to the occasion and passed every test.&nbsp; Inter Milan’s defense is the best that Barcelona has seen this season, so fashioning that opening goal is paramount.&nbsp; If Barcelona defeats Internazionale Milano and rises to a top two spot in Group F, that momentum will carry over to El Clásico on Sunday and renew this team with a sense of vitality, vigor, and vivacity that has slowed to this point.

FC Barcelona Falls Behind Real Madrid Before El Clásico

FC Barcelona Falls Behind Real Madrid Before El Clásico - World Soccer Talk

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