The league leaders were held to a 0-0 draw away at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon, before Barça secured a 4-2 victory away at RC Celta on Sunday night, with this combination of results putting Los Blancos on 31 points and Los Azulgranas on 28 points. It’s ever so close between the two Spanish giants.
Going into the game in Vigo, Barça coach Hansi Flick made a significant change to his line-up. He dropped Ferran Torres, who had been playing well, and gave Robert Lewandowski his first start since recovering from a muscle in his left thigh. The Polish striker had come on as a substitute against Elche CF and against Club Brugge, but was now getting a start and an opportunity to prove himself.
And, Lewandowski seized that opportunity. He converted a penalty after 10 minutes, before turning in two Marcus Rashford crosses, with one his right foot and the other a perfectly placed header at a corner kick. He may have turned 37 years of age earlier this season, but the No.9 still knows how to finish in a clinical way.
In fact, he became the fourth-oldest player to score a hat-trick in LALIGA EA SPORTS, only behind Jorge Molina, Joaquín and Alfredo Di Stéfano. It’s now 107 goals for FC Barcelona in his 159 appearances, with Lewandowski now the 14th-top scorer for the club of all time, moving past the 105 goals of Neymar with his hat-trick on Sunday night.
For the veteran striker, the most important aspect of this game was the victory, as FC Barcelona have often struggled in Vigo over the years. “This was one of the craziest games this season, especially in the first half, as we scored three goals but conceded two goals,” he said afterwards. “But, in the end, we are very happy because we won this difficult game. We knew that if we won then we’d have fewer points to Real Madrid. We know there are some things to do better, but we got everything we wanted today.”
A tight title race, with some huge fixtures coming up
With just three points separating the top two, and with Villarreal CF and Atlético de Madrid lurking just behind, it’s going to be a fascinating few weeks once LALIGA EA SPORTS returns after the November international break. FC Barcelona’s next game is at home Athletic Club, never an easy opponent, while Real Madrid face a tricky trip to Elche CF.
It’s worth keeping in mind that there is also a midweek of league action coming up at the beginning of December, when the four Spanish Super Cup teams play their Matchday 19 fixtures ahead of time. That means FC Barcelona vs Atlético de Madrid on December 2nd and Athletic Club vs Real Madrid on December 3rd, so that could be another key date in the title race too.
With Lewandowski back from injury and rippling the net, and with other players like Marcus Rashford and Lamine Yamal in great form, FC Barcelona look like they still have a lot left to say in the 2025/26 title race.