Barça without Lewandowski: who scores the goals now?

The champions begin LaLiga 2026-27 without their No. 9 for the first time in four years. 119 goals to replace, an English winger as the first signing, and a matchday 1 that Barça don't close until 27 August.

Barcelona begin the defence of their LaLiga title on 2026-27 without Robert Lewandowski for the first time in four years. The Polish striker announced his exit on 16 May, the club sent him off as "one of the defining figures of recent years", and his contract expired on 30 June. Now, with the new season only days away, the question hanging over the Camp Nou — and the one worth asking before you fill in your first pools coupon of the campaign — is as simple as it is awkward: who scores the goals?

119 goals in 191 games: the number Barcelona have to replace

When a club spends four years settling matches through the same man inside the box, losing him is not just another departure — it is a change of identity. The official figures Barcelona published when they said goodbye explain why the gap looks so daunting.

• 119 goals in 191 competitive appearances across four seasons
• 3 LaLiga titles: 2022-23, 2024-25 and 2025-26
• 1 Copa del Rey: 2024-25
• 3 Spanish Super Cups: 2022-23, 2024-25 and 2025-26

The farewell struck the right note. Lewandowski played his last game in blaugrana against Real Betis and was given a standing ovation when he came off, before addressing the crowd from the pitch. He described his spell at the club as "the most incredible chapter" of his career. At 37, he has taken his career to the United States, joining Chicago Fire in MLS.

Anthony Gordon: the first move of Barcelona's 2026 transfer window

The first official arrival of the summer landed on 29 May: Anthony Gordon, a 25-year-old England winger signed from Newcastle United on a deal running to 2031. It is a statement signing on both price and profile, and it tells you which direction the club has chosen.

• 25 years old, winger, England international
• 152 appearances for Newcastle United: 71 goals and 46 assists
• Contract at Barcelona until 2031, five seasons
• The fee is disputed: ESPN puts it at around €70m, while other outlets report up to €80m plus add-ons

And here is the detail that changes everything: Gordon is a winger, not an old-fashioned centre-forward. He brings pace, one-on-one running and aggressive pressing, but he does not replace what Lewandowski actually did, which was finish. Barcelona have not swapped one No. 9 for another — they have swapped one attacking model for a different one.

So who scores Barcelona's goals in 2026-27?

There is no single answer, and anyone offering you one with total confidence is guessing. What you can do is understand how a goalscoring load gets redistributed once the designated finisher is gone. Broadly, there are three routes, and the likeliest outcome is some blend of all three.

• Spread the goals to the flanks. That is what the Gordon signing points to: more threat arriving from wide, less reliance on one man attacking crosses.
• Lean harder on the talent already there. Lamine Yamal was decisive even with Lewandowski in the side; without a fixed No. 9, his share of the attack can only grow.
• Find goals from deeper. With no target man occupying the box, midfielders arriving late stop being a bonus and start being a primary source.

For anyone playing a prediction game, this is where it gets interesting. A team that has to redistribute 119 goals is, by definition, harder to read in the opening weeks. That does not make Barcelona worse — they are still the reigning champions — but their results may carry more variance than we are used to until the new attack settles into a rhythm.

What this means for your matchday 1 predictions

LaLiga 2026-27 kicks off on Saturday 15 August with Alavés against Getafe, but matchday 1 does not finish until twelve days later. The league agreed to push back fixtures involving the clubs worst affected by players who went deep into the 2026 World Cup, so the opening round is stretched across 15 to 27 August.

• Saturday 15 August, 19:00: Alavés vs Getafe opens the season
• Wednesday 26 August, 21:00: Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
• Thursday 27 August, 21:00: Barcelona vs Athletic Club closes matchday 1
• Promoted from the second tier: Racing Santander, Deportivo La Coruña and Málaga CF

That quirk matters if you are picking results. By the time you have to call Barcelona vs Athletic, you will have watched almost the entire round already, and most likely Mourinho's Real Madrid debut too. You will have more evidence for a single fixture than you ever normally get; the mistake would be ignoring it. The second lesson is just as useful: August results are produced by half-finished teams, not by the line-ups we will be watching in November.

A champion rebuilding in public

Barcelona enter the 96th edition of LaLiga as champions, but with a squad that no longer quite resembles the one that won the title. They have lost the striker who guaranteed their goals for four years, spent heavily on an England international winger, and now have to find on the pitch an answer that so far exists only on paper. Real Madrid, meanwhile, start the season with José Mourinho in the dugout and serious money spent of their own. The league that begins this August has more genuine unknowns than we have seen in a long time.

If you fancy testing your own read on it, the most enjoyable way is to share it. On quiniPrats you can set up a private prediction league with friends, family or your local crowd in a couple of minutes and compare scores round by round. No pressure — just a good excuse to argue every weekend about who called it right and who only thought they had.