~Snip
Yes but I think people thought it will be a close season as Barcelona has been doing well now. It depended on Mbappe and I admit I thought that Madrid would be stronger with him. Now Ancelotti said that they are having problems replacing Kroos as it now becomes obvious how much of an impact he had on the game. Sometimes you can't see it until the player is not playing anymore. Kroos has barely been a spectacular player, but he had this high level consistency that made him the central of their game. Mbappe is not being put into the right place in the right time. Kroos was amazing at doing that.
Barcelona are title contenders this season, so no one will take them lightly in a match against anyone in La Liga. Until week 9, Barcelona only lost 1 time and the rest won 8 times. Barcelona's defeat was certainly surprising considering their good performance, but there was a reason why they lost. But Barcelona came back and they won another game after that defeat. Leading the standings with a 3 point gap from Real Madrid is certainly not safe, but Barcelona is a team that really cannot be underestimated this season.
Barcelona is by far the most productive team in La Liga, scoring 28 goals in 9 matches. Lewandowski contributed 10 goals, 5 goals from Raphinha, the other 13 goals were scored by other players including Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Dani Olmo.