Golden Shoe 2014-15: Top Goal Scorers in Europe, Updated Standings

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo moved closer to the 2015 Golden Shoe award with goals against Rayo Vallecano and Eibar in the last week.

While he remains four clear of Barcelona rival Lionel Messi—who netted against Almeria and Levante since the previous update—the Argentinian only has seven La Liga matches left to make up considerable ground.

Here's a look at the current rankings:

Position	Player	Club	Goals x Factor	Points
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	38 x 2	76
2	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	34 x 2	68
=3	Alexander Meier	Eintracht Frankfurt	19 x 2	38
=3	Diego Costa	Chelsea	19 x 2	38
=3	Harry Kane	Tottenham	19 x 2	38
=3	Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	19 x 2	38
=7	Evgeni Kabaev	Sillamae Kalev	36 x 1	36
=7	Alexandre Lacazette	Lyon	24 x 1.5	36
=7	Jonatan Soriano	Red Bull Salzburg	24 x 1.5	36
=7	Neymar	Barcelona	18 x 2	36
=7	Antoine Griezmann	Atletico Madrid	18 x 2	36
=7	Eran Zahavi	Maccabi Tel-Aviv	24 x 1.5	36

Ronaldo Rolls on, Aguero Joins Top Premier League Marksmen

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Ronaldo overtook Messi with his five-goal showing against Granada on April 5 and is looking as prolific as ever after a poor bout of form.

His goal against Rayo was an extremely important one, providing Los Blancos with a 68th-minute breakthrough in a fixture which threatened to stall their title hopes. His 21st-minute strike against Eibar set Carlo Ancelotti's men en route to a standard 3-0 win. Positively for Messi, whose Barca side dropped two points against Sevilla, he managed to keep pace for the week.

Football writer Sid Lowe tweeted an incredible Ronaldo stat:

As noted by B/R UK, Ronaldo's free-kick against Eibar ended a barren spell from long range in dead-ball situations:

Although Messi didn't gain any ground this week, we're undoubtedly looking at a two-horse race for the main prize.

Neymar scored his first La Liga goal in seven matches against Sevilla, while Antoine Griezmann's double for Atletico Madrid in the draw with Malaga moved him alongside the Brazilian on 18. AS described the dramatic circumstances surrounding Griezmann's second:

Both he and Neymar are joint-third in Spain, lagging behind Premier League stars in the Golden Shoe race.

Angel Fernandez/Associated Press

Despite Manchester City's 4-2 loss to Manchester United, City striker Sergio Aguero certainly had a landmark day. Not only did he join Diego Costa, Harry Kane and Alexander Meier in joint-third on the Golden Shoe list, he racked up a century of strikes for the Citizens, per the club's Twitter account:

The Argentinian is now the joint-top scorer in the Premier League alongside Costa and Kane. Costa is expected to miss another three matches, reported by The Independent, so the English plaudits remain up for grabs.

Red Bull Salzburg hitman Jonatan Soriano continued adding to his total in Austria, scoring a vital strike in the 3-3 draw with Rapid Vienna. He has five goals in his last four matches and 24 for the season, per WhoScored.com.

Nikola Solic/Associated Press

As we head toward the final weeks of the season, Ronaldo's next opportunity to increase his La Liga total will come against Malaga, while Messi and the Blaugrana face Valencia—both tough matches for the continent's best.

While the Golden Shoe race appears a forgone conclusion right now, the battle to get inside the top 10 is heating up. Players such as Carlos Tevez, Charlie Austin and Carlos Bacca currently hover just outside the upper echelons and will be looking to rank among the best with a strong end to the season.