3 Players who could beat Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Italian Golden Shoe

Cristiano Ronaldo is already enjoying an impressive season in Serie A, just seven months after joining Juventus from Real Madrid. After a tough start of the season, the Portuguese legend now already number 1 on Serie A's current top goalscorers list, netted 17 goals and assisting 6 in 22 league appearances.

Unfortunately, the Italian Golden Shoe race is still on for Ronaldo. At the start of the season, many believe that well-known Serie A's striker like Mauro Icardi, Edin Dzeko, and Ciro Immobile will challenge the former Real Madrid superstar for the Golden Shoe. But now, a lot of surprising things happen in the league.

Several unexpected top scorer names emerge while the likes of Dzeko and Icardi underperformed this season. Now we will take a look at 3 surprising names that could overthrow Ronaldo from winning the Golden Shoe.

#1 Arkadiusz Milik

Arkadiusz Milik is one of the most surprising names to come on the top 5 Serie A's goalscorers list. Starting just 3 times under Maurizio Sarri last season, many believe that the former Ajax top striker will not fulfil the expectations.

Fortunately for Milik, Napoli decides to sack Sarri and appoint Carlo Ancelotti as their new head coach. Following Ancelotti's appointment, Milik gradually becoming a regular starter and now already netted 12 times from 19 appearances.

Currently, Ronaldo outscores Milik by 5 goals but, none of Milik goals coming from a penalty while Ronaldo already scored 5 from the spot. Ronaldo also got 656 more minutes in Serie A than Milik. If Ancelotti decides to give Milik more game times and chance to score from the spot, Milik could have an opportunity to outscore the Portuguese striker.

#2 Duvan Zapata

In the past 7 months, It seems like no one would believe that Duvan Zapata could be an unstoppable goalscoring machine. The Atalanta striker was already having an unsuccessful spell in Napoli. Last season, Zapata only got 11 goals from 31 appearances for Sampdoria, far below Icardi and Immobile who could net 29.

Now Zapata is at the peak of his career, already scoring 15 times from just 22 appearances following his move to Atalanta. Only scored once from the spot, perhaps Zapata will even be more likely to outscore Ronaldo rather than Quagliarella.

#3 Krzysztof Piatek

It is no secret that Krzysztof Piatek was probably the biggest surprise for Italian League this season. Just a season ago, he was not even playing in the top 5 European leagues and now he already becoming Serie A's top striker following his move to Genoa.

Piatek already netted 13 Serie A goals while playing for a mid-table team like Genoa, so his recent lucrative move to Milan who currently sits fourth will only improve his scoring opportunities. He did not disappoint in Milan, already scored 3 in Milan's last 2 games and against top opposition like Roma and Napoli. If his impressive form continues, it will be about time until Piatek catches up with Ronaldo.

Edited by Kingshuk Kusari