Lewandowski staking claim for the Pichichi Trophy after remarkable start at Barcelona

Barcelona had to fight hard to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich in the summer window. A tough battle ensued with the German champions, who were unwilling to let go of the Poland captain. However, Barça kept at it and eventually wore the Bavarians down.

It took a big financial commitment and a lot of effort to sign Lewandowski this past summer. And safe to say that, all of it is paying off handsomely for Barça early into the campaign.

Lewandowski, 34, is already an early contender for the Pichichi Trophy, with the Poland international scoring eight goals in six La Liga outings in his first season in Spain.

In fact, since blanking against Rayo Vallecano in the opening day fixture, the former Bayern Munich striker has scored in each of his five league games so far.

Out of the mentioned five games against Real Sociedad, Real Valladolid, Sevilla, Cadiz and most recently Elche, the 34-year-old has scored two goals in three of those matches.

In the clash versus Cadiz, he came on as a substitute and went on to score one goal while proving two assists in a 4-0 win.

His return of eight goals in six games so far means he is finding the back of the net every 56 minutes in La Liga. Furthermore, his tally is considerably better than the second-placed Iago Aspas of Celta Vigo, who has scored five goals so far.

Karim Benzema, who is the current holder of the Pichichi Trophy, has scored just three goals, although he has missed Real Madrid’s last two matches due to injury and will again be unavailable when they play Atletico Madrid tonight.

The Pichichi Trophy is awarded to the top scorer of each La Liga season. It has been in existence since 1929. Interestingly, former Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the trophy most times (8), followed by Athletic Club legend Telmo Zarra (6).

As many as three players in Alfredo Di Stefano, Quini and Hugo Sanchez have won the honour five times. Furthermore, Lionel Messi is the only player to have won the title a record consecutive five times.

Meanwhile, Barcelona sit right below Real Madrid as the team with the second most Pichichi trophies. While Real Madrid players have won it a record 28 times, Barcelona players have won it 19 times.

As many as 11 players are credited with bringing the prestigious award to the Catalan club. And Lewandowski could be the next in line after his stunning start to life as a Barcelona player.

While the 34-year-old striker will be gunning for the Pichichi Trophy, his teammate Marc-Andre ter Stegen will have his sights set on the Zamora Trophy after conceding just one goal in six league outings so far.