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There have been plenty of prolific goalscorers plying their trade in Europe this year and they have arguably been the most crucial component of their team's success.
Last year, it was Robert Lewandowski with the most goal contributions in Europe as he scored 45 goals and registered 15 assists in just 39 appearances across all competitions.
The Bayern Munich star has arguably been playing some of the best football of his distinguished career and looks like he could carry on for another three to four years.
Lewandowski is not the player with most goal contributions in 2021
Lewandowski carried his superb form in front of goal in 2021. But the forward only ranks third in the list of players with the most goal contributions this year. So who takes the top spot in place of Lewandowski?
Take a look at the five players with the most goal contributions in 2021:
(Note: Players from Europe's top five leagues are considered on this list. All stats are as listed on Transfermarkt)
#5 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) - 37
Karim Benzema has shouldered the majority of the goalscoring responsibilities at Real Madrid since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. And the Frenchman has undoubtedly been doing a fine job so far.
Last season, Benzema finished second in the goalscoring charts, only behind Lionel Messi, and was the only Real Madrid player to have reached double figures for goals.
Benzema contributed 15 goals and four assists in La Liga since January last season and was probably the reason why Real Madrid stayed in the title race until the end. His performance even urged France to discard the ban imposed on him following the Mathieu Valbuena scandal and call him back to the squad for Euro 2020.
Benzema has started the 2021-22 La Liga season in scintillating fashion, scoring eight goals and registering seven assists in just six games as Real Madrid sit top of the table.
The forward currently has 37 goal contributions (26 goals and 11 assists) since the start of the year. If his recent form is anything to go by, it doesn't seem like he will be stopping anytime soon.
#4 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) - 37
Arguably the best player in the world, Lionel Messi has had quite an eventful summer. The Argentine left Barcelona after 21 years this summer, as the club were unable to afford him due to their financial predicament. The 34-year-old then joined Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
While Messi is yet to score for his new club, he was prolific for Barcelona in the second-half of last season, earning him fourth spot on our list.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner finished as the top scorer in La Liga last season with 30 goals. 23 of these goals were scored in the second half of the season. Messi also provided nine assists to his teammates and his skills in the final third ensured that Barcelona finished as the top-scoring side in La Liga with 85 goals.
He also helped the Catalans to their first piece of silverware since 2019 with a brace in the 2020-21 Copa del Rey final.
So far, Messi has scored 28 goals and provided nine assists in 32 matches in 2021. The mercurial forward has played three matches for PSG but is yet to break his duck and will certainly be hoping to rectify that soon.
#3 Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern Munich) - 40
Robert Lewandowski ranks third in the list of highest goal contributions in 2021, with the Polish striker scoring 37 and assisting three in 28 games for Bayern Munich.
Lewandowski produced arguably one of the best individual goalscoring campaigns in the Bundesliga last season. The forward netted a record-breaking 41 goals in 29 games to surpass Gerd Muller's almost five-decade-old record for most goals in a single Bundesliga season. In doing so, the 33-year-old also clinched the 2020-21 European Golden Shoe ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
More than 50 per cent of Lewandowski's record-breaking tally of goals came in 2021 while the forward also scored two goals in the knockout stages of the Champions League. But a ligament injury before the quarter-finals meant he was unable to play as Bayern were knocked out by PSG.
Lewandowski has started the 2021-22 season from where he left off with the forward already scoring 11 goals in eight games across all competitions. The Polish striker will definitely be looking to target another European Golden Boot this season.
#2 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 42
Considering they have two of the top five players on this list in their team, it's not hard to see why PSG are regarded as favorites to win the Champions League.
French sensation Kylian Mbappe has 32 goals and 10 assists in 37 matches across all competitions in 2021 so far.
While PSG narrowly missed out on the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title, Mbappe was arguably the best player in the league, finishing as the top scorer in France. The forward registered 27 goals and seven assists in the campaign. He did so in just 27 starts, meaning he averaged a goal contribution every 88 minutes. 15 of these goals came in 2021 showing his prolific nature in front of goal this year.
Mbappe was also crucial to PSG's semi-final run in the Champions League last season. He was the second-highest scorer in the competition with eight goals. Six of those goals came in the knockout stages, including a brilliant hat-trick against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
The 22-year-old was constantly linked with a move to Real Madrid in the summer but has stayed at the Parc des Princes for now. He has had a good start to the new campaign, scoring and assisting four goals each in eight games across all competitions for the Ligue 1 giants. With Messi's arrival this summer, Mbappe will definitely be hoping to form a lethal partnership with the Argentine in front of goal.
#1 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - 50
A goalscoring machine. Those are the only words to describe Erling Haaland in 2021. The 21-year-old has scored a staggering 35 goals and provided a further 15 assists in 35 matches for Borussia Dortmund, averaging 1.4 goal contributions per game.
Haaland netted 27 times in the Bundesliga last season, finishing as the third highest goalscorer in the league. Out of those 27, 17 goals came in 2021 with the forward's form in the latter parts of the season particularly crucial to Dortmund finishing in the top four.
The Norwegian striker also managed to finish as the top-scorer in the Champions League, netting 10 goals despite his team getting knocked out in the quarter-finals. His goalscoring exploits also saw him become the fastest player to reach 20 Champions League goals.
Haaland has started the new season in scintillating fashion, already scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in just eight matches across all competitions. The forward will definitely be looking to outscore Lewandowski this season.
