Striker of the month - April: The nominees

With the ‘business’ end of the season looming large at the beginning of April, and some truly mouth-watering clashes complementing complex league story-lines, it was definitely time for the top attackers in Europe to stand up and be counted. Many fell by the side, dragging their team down along with them, while a few stood tall, guiding their team to greener pastures.

In addition to the usual fare of stunning goals, fans were treated to a couple of special hat-tricks this past month, one in the game which sealed the Premier League crown for Manchester United, and the other being the first against Real Madrid in the history of European competition. The scorers of those are in our list of nominees for the month of April, along with some other brilliant performers who shone through the month of April.

Robert Lewandowski

Key stats - Minutes played: 596 Goals: 8 Assists: 0

The first person on this list has seen an immense rise in value over the past couple of years with some outstanding finishes for Borussia Dortmund, both domestically as well as in Europe. Finishing high on the list of contenders for the Bundesliga‘s golden boot last year, Lewandowski is currently leading the charts this season even though his club have lost hold on the trophy they won on consecutive occasions the past two years. Playing in an astonishing eight games in April, split evenly between the Bundesliga and the Champions League, the Polish international scored an equal number of goals; the highlights being the opener in Dortmund’s great escape against Malaga, and the four-goal haul in their 4 – 1 thrashing of Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Key stats - Minutes played: 574 Goals: 7 Assists: 3

Just like Lewandowski, the number of goals scored by the unstoppable Cristiano Ronaldo in April were equivalent to the number of games he played – 7. After a slow start to the season, Ronaldo has really come to the party for Real Madrid, helping them put distance between themselves and local rivals Atletico in the race for the runners-up spot in La Liga. His tally in the Spanish league is second only to that of Lionel Messi, who had a relatively quiet April and will not feature in the list of nominees for the first time in a while. No such problems for Ronaldo though, as excellent shows, particularly against Galatasaray and Athletic Bilbao, make him one of the favourites to win this poll.

Robin van Persie

Key stats - Minutes played: 479 Goals: 6 Assists: 0

Title #20 has been delivered by Sir Alex Ferguson and co. to the Old Trafford faithful a bit earlier than one might have expected at the start of the season, and one finds it hard to think it would have been so without United’s talisman #20, Robin van Persie. Having recovered from a goal-drought near the end of March, the Dutchman focused his energy on making April as productive as possible, virtually sealing the golden boot for himself with Suarez no longer available to play this season. Personal glory apart, he has scored all four of United’s goals in their last two matches, including the aforementioned hat-trick and an emphatic penalty on his first return to the Emirates.

Roberto Soldado

Key stats - Minutes played: 360 Goals: 4 Assists: 1

After being a real threat to the top two in the Spanish league, Valencia have trailed off in the last couple of years, but not Roberto Soldado. The clinical front-man has continued to consistently be among the top scorers in the league, and is fifth even this year, in spite of his team’s struggles. After an unimpressive start to the season, Valencia now occupy the final European qualification spot, and will need Soldado to keep firing as he has been in April. Four goals, including a brace in his side’s 5 – 1 thrashing of a resilient Malaga, earn him a spot on this list.

Stefan Kiessling

Key stats - Minutes played: 346 Goals: 4 Assists: 0

Robert Lewandowski, as most would probably know, currently leads the scoring charts for the Bundesliga with 23 strikes. But who follows the Dortmund striker in the pecking order? If you guess any of Huntelaar, Mandzukic, Muller, Gomez, or any of their ilk, you would be wrong; it is Stefan Kiessling, with 22 goals to his name. While Bayern have been marching along merrily this season, Bayer Leverkusen have done exceedingly well to perch themselves in third spot in the table, with invaluable contributions from this 29-year-old. Having already exceeded his best annual domestic tally for Leverkusen, he will be looking to build on his 4 goals from April which included one in the 2 – 2 draw against now fourth-placed Schalke.

Christian Benteke

Key stats - Minutes played: 349 Goals: 4 Assists: 0

After struggling their way through most of the season, Aston Villa finally seem to have found their feet in the Premier League, dragging themselves 5 points clear of the relegation zone with a couple of fantastic performances in April. Credit is most certainly due to Benteke who, playing in his first year at the club, has kept the spirit going with some tireless, dogged performances. He has been rewarded for his consistency, and is currently at fourth place in the race for the golden boot. His four goals in April, although they came in games which were already won, certainly helped his cause.