Robert Lewandowski continued his prolific start to the season with his latest career hat-trick in Barcelona's 3-0 win at Alaves.
The result restored the Barca's three-point lead over bitter rivals at the top of La Liga.
Hansi Flick has put his faith in a superb batch of young talent since taking charge at Barca. His 36-year-old striker is very much the outlier but the Blaugrana's rich vein of form would not be possible without him.
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Lewandowski put Sunday's game to bed before halftime, firing his treble in the space of 25 minutes. It means he has 12 goals in 11 matches across all competitions in 2024/25.
Ten of those have come in LaLiga, with Villarreal's Ayoze Perez the next most prolific forward on six goals. Among a group of players on five is Kylian Mbappe and it will not be lost on Culers that Real Madrid's newest galactico is being outscored at a rate of two to one by Lewandowski.
3 - Between the 12 players who have been involved in at least 8 goals (goals + assists) this season in the Top 5 European Leagues, three are from @FCBarcelona, more than any other side.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 6, 2024
🇵🇱 @lewy_official 10 (8+2)
🇪🇸 @LamineeYamal 9 (4+5)
🇧🇷 Raphinha 8 (5+3)
Trident.#FCB ❤💙 pic.twitter.com/2PBFgCUCAk
He now has 18 career hat-tricks, with the bulk of those coming at Bayern Munich (14) and two apiece with Borussia Dortmund and Barca.
"When I worked with Lewandowski at Bayern it was the same, for me he is the best in front of goal," head coach Flick told DAZN afterwards.
Lewandowski might not be joined in the Barcelona attack for the foreseeable future by Ferran Torres after the Spain forward was substituted with a muscular injury at Alaves after just six minutes.
