Jude Bellingham, Ante Budimir and Artem Dovbyk battle hard for La Liga's top scorer's race

The 2023/2024 La Liga competition is entering a crucial phase. In the 30th week of the league, not only the champion, the competition for the top scorer or Pichichi title is also very interesting to follow. With only eight La Liga 2023/24 matches remaining, the competition to be the top scorer in this competition is still wide open.

There are now three players tied at the top of this season's Pichichi Cup, the prize awarded to the top goalscorer, with Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, Girona FC's Artem Dovbyk and CA Osasuna's Ante Budimir having scored 16 each goal in the competition. This was Pichichi's closest race at this stage of the season for more than two decades. Since the 2001/02 season, there have never been three players ranked in the Pichichi ranking in the final phase of the season, when FC Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert, RC Celta's Catanha and Real Madrid's Fernando Morientes also scored 16 goals together, this happened in weekend 31 of the league.

Surprisingly, none of these players lifted the prestigious individual trophy, as RC Deportivo's Diego Tristán made a late splash to take the award. A similar situation could also occur in the 2023/24 season because the leading trio is being chased by several other attackers. Getafe CF's Borja Mayoral has scored 15 goals, although a serious injury means he is unable to add to that tally. Next is Atlético de Madrid's Alvaro Morata with 14 goals, having played one game less, while Athletic Club's Gorka Guruzeta, Villarreal CF's Alexander Sorloth and FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, who won the trophy last season, have all scored 13 goals.

This is truly an exciting race and a win for anyone other than Lewandowski would be the player's first Pichichi Trophy. If Dovbyk or Budimir receive the award, it would be the inaugural Pichichi Cup for Girona FC or CA Osasuna. What's more, no Ukrainian or Croatian has ever won this award before, so this would also be a historic win in that regard. There is still a long way to go in this race and it is very difficult to predict who the winner will be.

Bellingham, in his first season in Spain, has been in first place since scoring on his Real Madrid debut in Week 1, but the Englishman hasn't scored since Week 24 and knows he needs to improve his ability to capitalize on opportunities. In cases of Dovbyk and Budimir are different, as both players had momentum and scored goals in Week 30. The Ukrainian striker scored twice in Girona FC's 3-2 win over Real Betis, while the Croatia international scored once in CA Osasuna's 3-0 win at UD Almeria.

Budimir is known for his strong finishing, as 67% of the 55 La Liga league goals he has scored throughout the 32-year-old striker's career have come in the second half of the season. Not forgetting the other contenders who are only a goal or two behind, and considering there is still a name like the 48-year-old former star footballer Diego Tristán, it is anyone's guess who will win the Pichichi Trophy for the 2023/24 season. What is certain is that football fans are in for eight weeks of exciting action as the best goalscorers in the country give their all to become La Liga's new top scorers.