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Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Race for La Liga’s ‘Pichichi’ Overshadowing League Title Chase

As much as fans of FC Barcelona, or more likely enemies of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo, don’t want to accept it, the La Liga race is over.

It’s Real Madrid’s to lose, and that would only happen under embarrassing and catastrophic circumstances.

In its wake has emerged the real battle between good and evil: Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo. They are currently highlighting the most exciting competition in the League — the fight for the “Pichichi” or leading goal scorer.

With a pair of braces by both players over the weekend, the tally stands at 32 goals for Ronaldo and 30 for Messi. For those wondering about No. 3, it’s Gonzalo Higuain who has a respectable 17 goals.

Each has taken a very distinct approach to the competition. Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and Ronaldo have taken an obsessive approach that could have threatened the team were it not so powerful. Ronaldo plays ninety minutes of every game. He takes every free kick (though he has shown terrible accuracy thus far this season) and every penalty kick.

The team is risking not only its scoring opportunities (since Xabi Alonso may have converted a few more kicks than Ronaldo) but also the health of its top star. Ronaldo has endured much wear and tear during league play, often continuing to play in games that the team is winning comfortably.

Messi has not been much different, as he takes many free kicks (with more success) and started in almost every game of La Liga — although he usually does not play all 90 minutes of each game.

With the league title out of hand, the thought on fans’ brains will be who played more minutes, and who scored more goals, as La Liga reaches its decisive games.

Despite who wins, fans now have the opportunity of seeing the two best players in the world go head-to-head in the best league in the world for the ultimate individual title. It doesn’t get much more exciting than that.

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