Golden Shoe 2016-17: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Latest Rankings on October 17
Roma’s Edin Dzeko continued his red-hot form on Saturday, bagging a brace against Napoli and moving ahead of some illustrious names in the battle for the Golden Shoe gong.
In a massive match in Serie A, the Bosnia and Herzegovina striker netted either side of half-time in a 3-1 victory, making it seven goals for the season. He’s now alongside Cologne’s Anthony Modeste and Chelsea’s Diego Costa, who have also netted seven times.
Elsewhere, it was a memorable weekend for Uruguayan duo Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, as they found the net for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain respectively. Meanwhile, BATE Borisov’s Vitali Rodionov continues to set the early pace, although he couldn’t find the net in his side’s 1-0 victory over Granit on Friday.
Here’s a look at the Golden Shoe standings and a look back at how some of the game’s top marksmen fared over the weekend.
| 1. | Vitali Rodionov | BATE Borisov | 14 x 1.5 | 21.0 |
| 2. | Vjatseslav Zahovaiko | Flora Paide | 19 x 1.0 | 19.0 |
| 3. | Gerard Gohou | Kairat Almaty | 19 x 1.0 | 19.0 |
| 4. | Yevgeni Kabayev | Kalev | 18 x 1.0 | 18.0 |
| 5. | Christian Gytkjaer | Rosenborg | 14 x 1.0 | 18.0 |
| Selected Others | ||||
| Edin Dzeko | Roma | 7 x 2.0 | 14.0 | |
| Diego Costa | Chelsea | 7 x 2.0 | 14.0 | |
| Anthony Modeste | Cologne | 7 x 2.0 | 14.0 | |
| Edinson Cavani | PSG | 9 X 1.5 | 13.5 | |
| Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 6 x 2.0 | 12.0 | |
| Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 6 x 2.0 | 12.0 | |
| Romelu Lukaku | Everton | 6 x 2.0 | 12.0 | |
| Carlos Bacca | Milan | 6 x 2.0 | 12.0 | |
| Gonzalo Higuain | Juventus | 6 x 2.0 | 12.0 |
Rules: To calculate a player's points tally, their goals are multiplied by a difficulty factor based upon which league they're scored in.
For example, in the Premier League, La Liga or Serie A, goals are worth two points, while in Ligue 1, goals are multiplied by 1.5.
Dzeko Does the Business for Roma
In what was a key weekend in Serie A, Roma moved up into second place thanks to an excellent win over Napoli, with Dzeko the difference-maker on the day.
Things haven’t gone particularly well for the 30-year-old since he joined Roma last summer, although he’s currently enjoying his best run of form in the Giallorossi jersey and in the lead for the coveted Capocannoniere with seven goals; he only managed eight in total last term.
As noted by OptaPaolo, not only is this Dzeko’s best run as a Roma player, it’s his best-ever start to a season:
Elsewhere, one of the biggest surprises in European football so far in 2016-17 has been the tremendous start to the season made by Cologne in the Bundesliga, who currently sit in second place behind Bayern Munich. And it’s Modeste who has spearheaded their attacking play with distinction.
The 28-year-old showed his potency in front of goal again on Saturday with a brace against Ingolstadt, finding the net twice in the first period. Modeste’s powerful frame, strong running and aerial ability has made him very difficult to contain.
German football journalist Daniel Pinder hailed the efforts of the former Blackburn Rovers man, who has been quite a pickup for Cologne:
The same can be said of Chelsea's Costa, who continues to show that his disappointing second season was just a blip.
In the 3-0 win over Leicester City, he got the Blues up and running with an early, poacher's goal. Aside from his strikes this season, Costa’s ability to isolate and bully defenders has given Chelsea an edge in the final third that they lacked for long spells of the previous term.
Per the Match of the Day Twitter feed, goals and assists have flowed freely for the 28-year-old since his move from Atletico Madrid:
The man closest to Costa in the Premier League is Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, who has six goals for the season. He netted a wonderful solo effort in his side’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, driving past Gael Clichy before coolly whipping his finish beyond Claudio Bravo.
In La Liga Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona were all in exceptional goalscoring form. Atletico smashed Granada 7-1 in their match, with Yannick Ferreira Carrasco grabbing a hat-trick and, remarkably, top-scorer Antoine Griezmann not finding the net.
Griezmann remains the top scorer in the division with six goals, although Suarez is alongside him after a 4-0 win for Barcelona over Deportivo La Coruna. The No. 9 had only scored once in his last four games ahead of this one—a poor return by his own incredible standards—although he showed brilliant inventiveness to slam home a shot from a tight angle.
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