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Winning the European Golden Boot, an award that is presented to the player with the highest points across the continent, is every striker’s dream. To win it, not only does a player need to score a bucketload of goals, but they must also do it in a favorable league.
Unless they play in a top-five European league, their goals are multiplied by either 1.5 or 1. Whereas in a top-five league, their goals are multiplied by two.
Last year, Bayern Munich ace Robert Lewandowski bagged the prestigious individual accolade with a staggering 41 goals or 82 points.
Will he be able to keep his crown or will we have another victor this time around? Here are the top five goalscorers who are vying for the Golden Boot right now:
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Special note: We are only considering goalscorers from the top five European Leagues for this list. Hence, Red Star’s Ohi Omoijuanfo (30 goals), and Lillestrom’s Thomas Lehne Olsen (26 goals) have been excluded from the list.
#5 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 38 points
With 38 points, Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is currently the fifth-leading goalscorer across the top-five European leagues. The Frenchman has been in imperious form for Los Blancos, scoring 19 goals and providing nine assists in 23 La Liga fixtures this season.
The Real Madrid skipper has not only popped up with crucial goals, but he has also contributed heavily to their build-up play. His understanding with Vinicius Junior has helped Los Merengues greatly in attaining top spot in La Liga.
Clever movement, intelligent passing, and lethal finishing have allowed Benzema to emerge as the leading scorer in La Liga.
If he keeps this up, we won’t be surprised to see him bag his first Pichichi at the end of the season.
#4 Ciro Immobile (Lazio) – 38 points
Ciro Immobile scored only twice in Italy’s Euro-winning campaign last summer. Yet, he was integral to Azzurri’s success, courtesy of his understanding of the space and contribution to their build-up play.
At Lazio, he takes a more direct approach and manages to be just as effective in that role, if not more.
Immobile has been leading Lazio’s line fearlessly since his transfer from Sevilla in 2016. He has scored 174 goals in 250 appearances for the Italian outfit, which is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
This season, he has scored 19 goals (38 points) in 22 Serie A, making him the second-leading scorer in the division and fourth-best across the top-five leagues.
#3 Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) – 40 points
Over the last couple of seasons, Dusan Vlahovic has attracted the eyeballs of almost all the leading clubs in Europe. This season alone, he has scored 20 goals in Serie A and is now the third-leading goalscorer across the top-five leagues with 40 points.
Out of his 20 goals, three have come for Juventus and the remainder for Fiorentina.
Rising through Partizan’s youth system, Vlahovic’s claim to fame came during his time at Fiorentina. The Serie A outfit allowed him to unlock his potential and become one of the sharpest forwards in the business. Unfortunately, Fiorentina didn’t realize that the Serbian would reach the ceiling so soon.
In a shocking turn of events, Vlahovic signed for La Viola's’ rivals Juventus for an €81.6million fee in the winter transfer window.
He has settled in nicely in Turin and has heavily contributed to Juventus’ 12-game unbeaten run in the league.
#2 Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) – 40 points
Bayer Leverkusen ace Patrik Schick has easily been one of the most underrated strikers this season. The Euro 2020 joint-top scorer has kept his head down and focused on his craft, and the result is in front of our eyes.
In 20 Bundesliga matches, the Czech has scored 20 goals and provided three assists, establishing himself as the second-leading goalscorer across the continent’s top-five leagues.
However, Schick is unlikely to maintain his position in the rankings over the next few months due to a recent, rather serious injury.
The second-leading scorer in the Bundesliga has torn a muscle fiber in his left calf, which has ruled him out for several weeks.
#1 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 56 points
Sitting at the top of the summit is a familiar name, one who is the current holder of the European Golden Boot.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is currently the leading scorer in Europe with 28 goals (56 points) and is proudly marching towards another well-deserved Golden Boot.
The Polish striker has not scored the flashiest goals, but his finishing, as usual, has been clinical. His ability to read the game takes him into favorable positions and his finishing effortlessly takes care of the rest.
The current "Best FIFA Men’s Player" award winner has featured in all 24 Bundesliga games for Bayern this season, scoring in 18 of them.
He has six braces and two hat-tricks to his name so far, and we expect him to improve upon the tallies over the coming weeks.
