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JUST three points separate leaders Barcelona from Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish LaLiga in a gripping campaign and three goals also divide their main marksmen.
Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski is the division’s top goal-scorer with 25 and Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe trails him on 22, adding another facet to the engrossing battle.
The Catalans host soaring Real Betis, sixth, today, shortly after champions Real Madrid welcome relegation-battling Valencia to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Last weekend after Mbappe notched twice against Leganes as Madrid scraped a 3-2 win, Lewandowski responded with a brace of his own in Barcelona’s 4-1 rout of Girona.
In the final stages his team spurned opportunities to score more goals and Lewandowski highlighted that.
“In the last minutes there was more space and more chance of scoring,” noted the 36-year-old Poland international.
“If we had a better final ball we could have scored one or two more goals.”
Lewandowski has netted nine goals in his last nine league games and has 38 strikes from 43 matches across all competitions.
Despite his age, he believes he still has the quality to make the difference at an elite club for years to come.
“I know a lot of people are talking abut my age, but I’m working since (I was) 21, 22, until now and I want to play more years at the top level.
“I feel very good physically, I think looking at the stats there’s no difference now to a few years ago.”
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick insisted the striker was focused on team success as well as battling for Spain’s “Pichichi” award.
“He’s fit, he’s 100 per cent, I know he wants to win the Pichichi,” said Flick.
“But like I’ve always said the most important thing is the team… and this is what I can feel more, that he thinks about the team and focuses on the team and helps the team.”
Not far behind him is Mbappe, who boasts 33 goals in 46 games this season , equalling the tally Cristiano Ronaldo produced in his first season for Real Madrid.
Mbappe idolised the Portuguese striker, who joined Los Blancos in 2009 from Manchester United and said it was “very special” to match him.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said this week Mbappe could go on to become a “legend” like Ronaldo was at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Al-Nassr striker netted 450 goals to become Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer.
Mbappe said he is not setting limits for himself this season in terms of goals, while Vinicius Junior said in January Madrid players would do “everything we can to make (Mbappe) the top scorer in all competitions”.
Valencia’s visit offers a decent chance to bolster his numbers as Los Che trio Jose Gaya, Luis Rioja and Dimitri Foulquier were all booked last weekend and will miss the game.
No player has scored more league goals in 2025 than Mbappe with 12, ahead of Lewandowski’s seven.
Meanwhile, LaLiga leaders Barcelona’s 21-game unbeaten run will face a test today when they host a Real Betis side who have already stunned the Catalans’ Madrid title rivals Real and Atletico.
Barca are top on 66 points, three ahead of Real Madrid and nine clear of Atletico.
Real and Barca are both chasing three trophies but the pacesetters are favourites to win LaLiga as the only team in Europe’s top-five leagues yet to lose in 2025.
However, Barca’s next opponents Betis, who are on a six-game LaLiga winning streak, have been the surprise package this term.
They denied Real Madrid a chance to go top with a 2-1 win in March after ending Atletico’s 10-game unbeaten run in October.
Barcelona were held 2-2 at Betis in the reverse fixture in December but thrashed Manuel Pellegrini’s side 5-1 to knock them out of the Copa del Rey in January.
Sixth-placed Betis are level on 47 points with Villarreal in fifth and trail fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao by six as they push for a European spot while also bidding to win the Conference League.
“We are not unbeatable because we have lost some matches (before),” Barcelona forward Pedri said.
“There are things to improve, and we must be self critical. But we are in great form and full of confidence.
“I think high pressing is something that defines us. That forward line, the intensity we play with, staying calm on the ball … the attackers make the difference, and it shows.”
Barcelona’s attacking prowess stands out as they top LaLiga’s scoring chart with 82 goals – 20 more than Real Madrid.
If Barca are to claim a treble in boss Hansi Flick’s debut season they will likely need to beat Madrid at least twice, in the Copa del Rey final on April 26 and in LaLiga in May.
Real have failed to beat their rivals in LaLiga so far this season, drawing both of their fixtures with Atleti and suffering a 4-0 humiliation at home to Barca.
Fixtures
Today: Girona v Alaves (2pm), Real Madrid v Valencia (4:15pm), Mallorca v Celta Vigo (7:30pm), Barcelona v Real Betis (9pm)
Tomorrow: Las Palmas v Real Sociedad (2pm), Sevilla v Atletico Madrid (4:15pm), Valladolid v Getafe (6:30pm), Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao (9pm)
Online Reporter