LA LIGA: BARCELONA BEAT GIRONA 4-1 TO GO THREE POINTS CLEAR

Barca saw Real Madrid pull level at the summit with Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Leganes, but they made Sunday’s game in hand count to give themselves breathing space again.

The Blaugrana took the lead two minutes before the break when Lamine Yamal’s free-kick deflected in off Girona defender Ladislav Krejci for an own goal.

However, Girona – who are seven points clear of the relegation zone in 13th – struck back after the restart when Arnaut Danjuma slotted home, having been found by Daley Blind.

But Barcelona did not panic and Lewandowski restored their lead with an acrobatic flick just after the hour, and the Poland international was not done there.

He scored his 25th league goal of the season and killed off any slim hopes of a Girona fightback in the 77th minute, finishing tidily after a driving run and pass from Frenkie de Jong.

Ferran Torres added some gloss to the scoreline four minutes from time after coming off the bench, firing past Paulo Gazzaniga after a fine first touch from Gerard Martin’s pass.

Barcelona, who earned a measure of revenge for a 4-2 loss in the same fixture last season, move onto 66 points, three ahead of Madrid and nine clear of Atletico Madrid in third.

Data debrief: Lewandowski matches Messi pace, Barca out on their own

Lewandowski has enjoyed a phenomenal third season with Barca.

Having scored 23 goals in his debut LaLiga campaign in 2022-23 and 19 in 2023-24, he already has 25 this term.

He is three clear of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in the 2024-25 goalscoring charts in LaLiga, and 12 ahead of Barca’s next-most prolific player, Raphinha.

Lewandowski has needed just 28 league games to reach that tally. The last player to score more by this stage of a season in LaLiga was Blaugrana legend Lionel Messi in 2018-19 (29 in 28 matches).

In all competitions, Hansi Flick’s team have scored 139 goals in 45 matches this season. No team from LaLiga have ever scored more through 45 games of any campaign.