Just how good is Robert Lewandowski? Here's what the stats say

During the summer transfer window, Barcelona raised a few eyebrows by splashing over £40million on a 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski.

However, if the Pole’s start is anything to go by, this could turn out to be one of the best transfer deals the club have made in years.

In recent times, Barcelona have earned a poor reputation for splashing a lot of cash on players who failed to replicate their value on the field. The likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele quickly spring to mind.  

Considering Lewandowski is in his mid-30s, the expectations on the Pole were mixed. While some were confident of his goalscoring abilities, others thought his best days may have been behind him.  

However, in just 14 games, Lewandowski has proved all doubters wrong. Here, we take a closer look at the stats behind his thunderous start to the season.  

Goals this season 

Lewandowski failed to get on the scoresheet in his first competitive outing for Barcelona. The player was held by Rayo Vallecano’s defence as the Catalan giants kicked off the campaign with a goalless draw.  

One week later though, the Polish forward made his breakthrough in style. The striker opened the scoring in the first minute of a La Liga clash with Real Sociedad. Lewy added a second in the second-half as his team won 4-1 away from home. 

Two more goals followed against Real Valladolid though the Pole was unable to find a breakthrough against Sevilla.  

In his first Champions League appearance for the club, Lewy scored a hat-trick against Victoria Plzen and he followed that up with a brace against Cadiz just three days later.  

A meeting with former club Bayern Munich followed, though the striker couldn’t find the back of the net despite having chances. Barca went on to lose that game 2-0, though they shook off their disappointment in the league, beating Elche 3-0. Two of those efforts were scored by Lewandowski.  

Upon returning from the international break, the Pole scored the only goal of the game as Barcelona beat Mallorca 1-0.  

That was his only goal for the next three games as the Spanish giants lost to Inter and narrowly beat Celta Vigo.

Lewy rediscovered his aim by bagging a brace in the rematch with Inter, but couldn’t stop his side from losing 3-1 in the El Clasico four days later.  

Nevertheless, the Poland international showed his quality against Villarreal last weekend, bagging two goals in a 3-0 victory at the Camp Nou.  

Is Lewandowski the best goalscorer in the world?  

As things stand, it’s fair to say that the world’s most prolific goalscorer is currently at Manchester City. Erling Haaland has scored 20 goals in 13 competitive games for the Cityzens and is without doubt the man of the moment.  

Lewandowski isn’t far behind with 16 goals in 14 matches, though considering the level of opposition, it’s the Norwegian who has been slightly more impressive.

Newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, on the other hand, has some catching up to do. The Frenchman missed four games this season due to injuries and has not been able to gain much momentum.  

Nevertheless, the player has come up with six goals in 11 games and is expected to get better as the season rolls on.  

Another man who could lay claim to the goalscoring throne is Kylian Mbappe. The PSG frontman has scored 12 goals in 14 games. However, the 23-year-old has scored just once in his last four outings, with PSG picking up just one win during this time.

Bearing everything in mind, it’s clear Lewandowski is among the world’s best goal getters. In fact, looking at the stats, you could argue he’s the world number two.

Question is, at the age of 34, how long can the Polish striker remain at that level, and will it lead to serious silverware at the Camp Nou?