Top Contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot: March 2019

Hello and welcome back to our assessment of the race to the Serie A Golden Boot at the start of March. Last year's joint winners, Mauro Icardi and Ciro Immobile, continue to trail the pack and are still missing from the top 5.

All the previous 5 contenders have performed well since our last assessment, which means that no new player has been able to break into the top 5. However, the rankings have changed, most significantly at the top.

Also Read: Top Contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot: February 2019

Cristiano Ronaldo capped off another decent month, but he has some stellar competition right now. The race to become the top scorer of the Serie A has become intense and as none of the competitors are ready to give an inch, it is safe to say that the race is far from over.

The 5 contenders in this list have scored 86 Serie A goals among them this season and only 1 goal separates the top three players right now. Read on to find out the top contenders for the "Capocannoniere" at the start of March 2019.

All Stats are courtesy of Transfermarkt and BBC

#5 Arkadiusz Milik (Poland, Napoli)

Goals Scored - 14

The Polish striker remains at the 5th position, thanks to a fruitful month of February, where he scored 3 goals from 4 games.

Milik started the month with one goal against Sampdoria as Napoli won 3-0 at home. He then drew a blank in both of the next two games - against Fiorentina and Torino. Subsequently, both games ended in a 0-0 draw.

But the Polish International was back among the goals away at Parma, scoring a brace as Napoli won 4-0. This weekend against Juventus, he started from the bench, came on for the last 27 minutes, but failed to score as Napoli lost 1-2 at home.

Milik has now scored 14 goals from 23 games in the Serie A and is averaging a goal every 105 minutes played. He has registered 62 shots, 35 of which have been on target. At the start of March, the Polish Striker is 5th in the race to the Serie A Golden Boot.

#4 Duvan Zapata (Colombia, Atalanta BC)

Goals Scored - 16

The Colombian did not have the best of times in February, as he scored just 1 goal from the 4 games in the month. Atalanta started the month with a 1-0 win against Cagliari Calcio away from home. Zapata started the game, but failed to score. He found the net in the following game against SPAL at home, as he inspired his team to a 2-1 win. However, he drew a blank in the next 2 games, both of which his team lost.

This weekend against Fiorentina at home, Zapata failed to score once again, but Atalanta won 3-1. The Colombian has scored 16 goals from 26 games so far, and is averaging a goal every 120 minutes played. He has registered 54 shots, 29 of which have been on target. At the start of March, the Colombian has dropped one place to 4th among the top contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot.

#3 Krzysztof Piatek (Poland, AC Milan)

Goals Scored - 18

The Polish striker took the Serie A by storm at the start of this season and has continued his fantastic form with his new club AC Milan. He summed up a fruitful first month since making the move, scoring in all of the 4 games in February and inching closer to the men ahead of him.

Piatek started the month with a goal in the 1-1 draw against AS Roma away from home. He followed that up with another goal in the 3-0 win over Cagliari Calcio at home in the next game. In the following game against Atalanta, he scored a brace to seal a vital 3-1 away win for his club. In the game against Empoli at the end of the month, Piatek scored once more to help his club to a 3-1 win.

Against Sassuolo this weekend, the Polish striker drew a blank, but Piatek still has 18 goals from 25 games in the season so far and is averaging a goal every 110 minutes played. He has recorded 73 shots so far, 39 of which have been on target. At the start of March, he is 3rd among the top contenders for the Golden Boot and is hot on the heels of the men ahead.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Juventus)

Goals Scored - 19

The Portuguese scored 4 goals from 4 games in the month of February, yet dropped down in the race, due to an inferior goals-per-game ratio.

Ronaldo started the month with a brace against Parma at home, as the game ended 3-3. He scored 1 and set up the other two in the following game against Sassuolo, which Juventus won 3-0. He was among the goals in the following game as well, scoring one of his team's 3 goals. In the last game of the month against Bologna, Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net.

The Portuguese also drew a blank this weekend against Napoli, but Juventus still won 2-1. Ronaldo has now scored 19 goals from 26 games in the Serie A and is averaging a goal every 118 minutes played. He has recorded a league-high 118 shots on goal, 64 of which have been on target. At the start of March, Ronaldo is second among the contenders, only by fine margins and one can expect him to mount a fierce challenge this month.

#1 Fabio Quagliarella (Italy, UC Sampdoria)

Goals Scored - 19

They say big players sometimes need a push to reach exceptional levels and 36-year-old Fabio Quagliarella might just be the push that Cristiano Ronaldo needs at Serie A right now. The Italian has overtaken the Portuguese to be the No. 1 contender at the start of March and shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

Quagliarella failed to find the back of the net in the first 3 games of the month, and his team lost all 3 games. However, he redeemed himself in the last game of February against Cagliari Calcio, scoring the only goal of the game to earn his team a vital victory at home.

This weekend, the Italian scored a brace to secure 3 away points against SPAL. He now has 19 goals from 25 games and is averaging a goal every 113 minutes played. He has registered 74 shots on goal, 39 of which have been on target. Quagliarella will be hoping he can continue his fantastic effort till the end of the season as he continues to have eyes on the prize.

Join us again next month as we assess the latest developments in the race again.

Edited by Arvind Sriram