Robert Lewandowski or Karim Benzema? Best No. 9 debate

Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Mestalla on September 19, 2021 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Mestalla on September 19, 2021 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona pose a threat to Real Madrid and Kareem Benzema. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona pose a threat to Real Madrid and Kareem Benzema. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

The top scorers in the world belong to Barcelona and Real Madrid In Lewandowski and Benzema, respectively. But who takes the top spot?

For the last 15 years, we saw the best two players battle each other every year at least twice a year. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made ‘El Clásico’ one of the biggest events in the world for more than a decade. Now, with both stars playing for other teams, we need two other players to make the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid as amazing as it once was.

Right now, Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema are the two best strikers in the world. The latter will probably win the Ballon d’Or this season. Still, it seems that we are up to seeing other matchups that will make us remember the 2010’s Clásicos.

Benzema truly took control of the Merengues after Ronaldo’s exit. Last season, he finally reached his prime form as he was the heart and head of the team as they won another Champions League and La Liga title. He won the Pichichi trophy with 27 goals, as well as the Golden Boot in the UCL with 15 goals.

Meanwhile, Lewandowski is just joining the Culés as the team’s new No. 9.  Last season, he was as good as ever. He might even have had a better season scoring wise than Benzema. The Polish striker scored 35 goals in the Bundesliga as he helped Bayern Munich win one more title. He also had a great UCL season scoring 13 goals.

Both players have been some of the best scorers in the world the last decade. Lewandowski has scored 547 goals in 752 club appearances. He reached his prime when he joined Bayern Munich back in 2014, scoring 344 goals in almost the same amount of games played (375). Now, he has joined the Culés to be their new No. 9.

On the other side, Benzema found his prime since Ronaldo’s exit. So far, the Frenchman has scored 408 goals in 778 games. Last season was the best of his career as he scored a total of 44 goals in 46 games. Only once before had he surpassed the 30-goal mark.

Now, both players are in charge of taking their teams to the top of European football. Of course, Benzema already did it last year. Lewandowski is going to have a harder job as Barcelona failed last year, missing out on the chance to win any of the four competitions they played.

Both players have gotten off to a strong start. Lewandowski has already scored five goals in three out of Barcelona’s four La Liga games. As for Benzema, he has scored three goals in four La Liga games with the Merengues. Both players are in the top five of La Liga’s top scorers, so it’s going to be interesting to see who ends above the other.

Of course, in the end it doesn’t matter who score more goals if their team ends up losing in all of their competitions. Either player’s success will depend on the amount of titles their team win at the end of the season.