October saw the domestic leagues around Europe begin to take shape, along with 2 rounds of European action and of course the 2nd of 3 international breaks we will get before the end of 2024. In this we’ve seen the usual standouts, but some have gone above and beyond in their quality this month and really stepped on the gas in this early stage of the season.

This months NextGoalWinner player of the month winner is a player who has been crucial in helping his Barcelona side to 5 wins from 5, with all games being won by 3+ goals. With a hugely dominant month, they also put aside any Champions League concerns after their opening defeat to Monaco, they also beat Bayern Munich and Real Madrid who have been a thorn in the side of Barca for the past few years.

Robert Lewandowski has averaged 2 goals per game across his 5 club games throughout October, with the only blip really coming for his international duties for Poland. In this he has been a huge contributor to Barcelona claiming their dominant victories, and despite being 36 and potentially in question for how much longer he can lead the line for the Spanish side, he has proven his worth and then some for the last few weeks.

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Match By Match

October 1st: Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys – Starting off the month in style in their European game against Young Boys, Barcelona showed their quality as they bagged 5 goals to make up for their defeat against Monaco in their opening game. Lewandowski was a key component of the performance as the forward line showed their dominance with Raphinha and Lewandowski well in on the goals. With a brace to start the month, Lewandowski was only overshadowed by Raphinha and defender Martinez in the man of the match rankings, but did earn an 8.8/10 FotMob rating for his efforts in the big win.

October 6th: Deportivo Alaves 0-3 Barcelona – After a brace in Europe, Lewandowski proved again his quality as he bagged all 3 in the away trip to Deportivo Alaves. With a 25 minute hattrick to add to his 2 in the previous game, he went into the international break with him and Barcelona in top form, and with a tough run of games on the other side of the break it was certainly welcomed. With his goalscoring he was of course the man of the match for the first of 3 he achieved this month, earning a 9.7/10 FotMob rating, scoring 3, 5 shots on target and even winning the most duels (7). A real all-round performance to show Barcelona still can rely on him to lead the line.

October 20th: Barcelona 5-1 Sevilla – Coming off the international break, where Lewandowski struggled to make an impact in Poland’s defeat against Portugal, and his cameo in the draw against Croatia. Despite this, he came back to Spain with a bang as he netted 2 goals in the first half to put Barcelona firmly in control, and claim a dominant win over struggler Sevilla. Lewandowski claimed another man of the match award, with his brace and 3 shots on target for his efforts in the 66 minutes on the pitch, earning a 8.8/10 FotMob rating.

October 23rd: Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich – Despite having such a poor run in recent times against Bayern in European competition, including the infamous 8-2 defeat still living in the memory of fans, this time they hosted Bayern and proved their quality as they went ahead in the first minute. It was the 10 minute spell before half-time in which the 1-1 draw turned in Barcelona’s favour as they added 2 quick goals to lead at the break. Another goal rounded off the dominant win, and hattrick for standout Raphinha. Lewandowski played a key role as he bagged the 2nd of 4 on the night and drew the most fouls (3). Being withdrawn in the 85th minute with the game won, he secured a respectable but his monthly low 7.2/10 FotMob rating in the crunch Champions League meeting.

October 26th: Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona – Rounding off an unbeaten month in October which included all 5 games being won by a minimum of 3 goals, Barcelona travelled to their arch rivals in El Classico and showed the gulf in quality that the league table has proven thus far. Lewandowski was a key figure in this performance as he had been all month, netting the first 2 of Barcelona’s 4 goals on the night. He put in yet another man of the match showing with a 9.2/10 FotMob rating as he bagged 2 goals, hit the woodwork, won 100% of tackles, and did some of his defensive duties. Making it 10 goals in 5 games, he has averaged 2 goals per game and proved this stat in perfect fashion to finish the month, give Barcelona a huge boost in the fight for La Liga and of course claim the NextGoalWinner POTM award for October.