The biggest reason Barcelona are flying high is because their front three are better than Real Madrid and everyone else. While Los Blancos have assembled three extremely talented players with similar playing styles, Barca's front three complement each other perfectly.
Robert Lewandowski scored 75 Bundesliga goals in nearly two seasons under Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich. He is the perfect striker for the German's high-tempo approach.
Lewandowski is averaging 1.2 xG + xA per 90 minutes - nearly double Kylian Mbappe's rate and also more than he did in two seasons at Bayern.
On the counter-attack, Lewandowski was always in the middle of the box, ready to pounce. When they had more consistent possession, Barca sometimes looked like a basketball team. The midfielders and defenders moved the ball around, while Lewandowski moved flexibly and tried to find space.
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal is emerging as one of the brightest young stars in world football. And remember, Yamal is only 17 years old. Many even say that Yamal is an upgraded version of Bukayo Saka, bigger, stronger and more dangerous.
Yamal leads the way in Europe for both progressive passes and completed passes into the box. The young Spaniard is a terror when cutting in from the right flank and attracts plenty of attention when he has the ball at his feet.
And with all the attention on Yamal, Raphinha knows how to make his name known. In fact, the Brazilian has been more outstanding than his two teammates up front. Raphinha leads Barca with 1.24 xG + xA per 90 minutes. In fact, he ranks third among all players in Europe for total xG and first for xA.
Yamal weaves past the right-backs, the ball is passed to Raphinha in space on the left. The Brazilian then makes a clever pass or dribble, while Lewandowski looks to escape the defenders. The Pole can either receive the ball and shoot or create space for another player to run into. That has been the basic attacking formula for the Blaugrana this season.
Lewandowski doesn't need the ball too much, as his main job is to stretch and pressure the opposition defense by constantly moving. Meanwhile, Yamal and Raphinha are tasked with receiving the ball and creating breakthroughs.
After 10 rounds of La Liga, Barcelona's attack, not Real Madrid's, is reaching heights rarely seen in Spain. Los Blancos remain unbeaten but it has been an arduous process.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have won five La Liga games this season by at least three goals. In contrast, Real Madrid have only scored three goals in a La Liga game twice this season.
