Robert Lewandowski, who awaits his 100th Barcelona goal, was overtaken by Kylian Mbappe in the Pichichi race after he scored a Clasico hat-trick.
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Mbappe leading the race to win LaLiga top scorer awardFrenchman overtook Lewandowski Scored a hat-trick in Madrid's Clasico loss at the weekendFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Mbappe has well and truly arrived for Real Madrid, marking his debut season with an emphatic hat-trick against Barcelona at the weekend, albeit in a losing cause. The Frenchman's three goals on Sunday saw him leapfrog Lewandowski in the Pichichi (La Liga top scorer) race, with the Polish international still searching for the goal that'll bring up a century of goals with the Catalans.
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Lewandowski is currently on 25 goals in the league in 31 appearances. However, he has failed to find the back of the net in the Spanish top-flight since March 30, when he scored a brace in a dominant 4-1 home win against neighbours Girona. What also hasn't helped is the fact that he missed five games due to a muscle injury he picked up against Celta Vigo last month. With his last goal for Barcelona, in any competition, coming over a month ago in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund, the Pole's excruciating wait to score his 100th goal for the Blaugrana continues.
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Mbappe's hat-trick in Madrid's 4-3 loss to Barca saw his La Liga tally reach 27 goals, two more than Lewandowski. The 26-year-old also broke an all-time record for Los Blancos in the process. Indeed, the French international now holds the record for the most goals scored by a Real Madrid player in his debut season with 39 to his name, breaking the previous record held by the legendary Ivan Zamorano. The Chilean scored 37 goals in 45 games in his debut season (1992-93).
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While Hansi Flick's men have all but sealed the La Liga title following their win over Madrid, stretching their lead at the top of the table to seven points with just three games remaining, it will be interesting to see if Mbappe manages to secure the Pichichi award in his debut season, or if the experience of Lewandowski comes to the fore in the final few fixtures. Madrid will face Mallorca on Wednesday, 14 May, while Barca will visit local rivals Espanyol on Thursday, 15 May.