Having arrived at Barcelona last year, Robert Lewandowski soon became an integral part of Xavi Hernandez’s setup.

The 35-year-old veteran ended up playing a key role as Barça walked away with the La Liga title, with his goals proving to be vital.

Lewandowski ended the 2022/23 season, his first in Spain, with 23 goals in 34 La Liga matches, which earned him the Pichichi Trophy.

Lewandowski happy with Pichichi triumph

Earlier today, Lewandowski appeared at the MARCA Football Awards Gala where he was formally handed the Pichichi Trophy for his stunning season in 2022/23.

The 35-year-old spoke at the ceremony and expressed his pleasure about having tasted so much success in his first season at Barça, saying:

“I want to thank my family, team, coach and staff. It was very important for me to adapt quickly to the team, everyone helped me from the start. We won La Liga, the Super Cup, and now the Pichichi. I’m very, very happy.”

Competition with Jude Bellingham

Bellingham is the current top scorer in La Liga.

This season, however, Lewandowski has not been at his best at times. That, coupled with Jude Bellingham’s sensational start to life in Spain with Real Madrid has meant that the veteran Barcelona striker is trailing in the Pichichi Trophy race.

Indeed, Bellingham is leading the scoring charts with ten goals in 11 La Liga games, two of which came in the El Clasico last month. Meanwhile, Lewandowski has seven in 11 appearances.

Discussing the Pichichi race, Lewandowski insisted that there is still plenty of time left in the season, saying:

“The season is long, but Jude is here, a very good player. I think it’s not easy now to score a lot of goals in La Liga, many teams play very defensively, and physically as well. But we are Barcelona, and we always want not only to win but also to score a lot of goals.”