Golden Shoe 2015-16: Leading Goalscorers in Europe, Latest Table and Points

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rediscovered his scoring stride over the weekend to boost his 2015-16 Golden Shoe credentials under a mountain of pressure from Europe's other top attackers.

The Borussia Dortmund forward netted against Eintracht Frankfurt to extend his run at the head of the Golden Shoe leaderboard, while Bayern Munich rival Robert Lewandowski was also back in the goal hunt.

The Bundesliga pair were the only candidates among the Golden Shoe's current top 10 who managed to score this weekend, with Barcelona's Neymar sidelined and team-mate Luis Suarez faltering against Deportivo La Coruna.

Napoli ace Gonzalo Higuain also saw his four-match scoring streak come to an end, while Leicester City's Jamie Vardy waits to face Chelsea on Monday evening with a view to moving up the rankings once again.

Read on for the latest Golden Shoe rankings and discussion of this season's race for the top league scorer award.

Position	Player	Team	Goals x Factor	Points
1.	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	18 x 2	36.0
2.	Alex Teixeira	Shakhtar Donetsk	22 x 1.5	33.0
3.	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	15 x 2	30.0
4.	Nemanja Nikolic	Legia Warsaw	20 x 1.5	30.0
5.	Gonzalo Higuain	Napoli	14 x 2	28.0
6.	Tomas Radzinevicius	Suduva	28 x 1	28.0
7.	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	14 x 2	28.0
8.	Neymar	Barcelona	14 x 2	28.0
9.	Thomas Muller	Bayern Munich	13 x 2	26.0
10.	Luis Suarez	Barcelona	13 x 2	26.0

Rules: Each division is attributed a difficulty constant (between one and two), which is then multiplied by the number of goals scored to produce a total. 

For example, La Liga is considered among the most difficult leagues to net in, so Neymar's 14 goals are doubled to create his points tally of 28. By contrast, the Lithuanian top flight has a constant of one, meaning Tomas Radzinevicius’s 28 goals equate to 28 points.

Aubameyang Hits Back, Lewandowski Lurking

The Bundesliga now boasts two front-runners in the hunt for this season's Golden Shoe after Lewandowski surged up the rankings, but Aubameyang is still the current favourite after stretching his lead at the summit.

As shown by BT Sport, Borussia Dortmund's leading scorer bagged his 18th goal of the German league campaign in the Black and Yellows' 4-1 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt:

The Gabon international failed to score in his previous domestic outing against Wolfsburg, but Sunday's strike means Aubameyang is still to go more than one Bundesliga game without scoring this term.

His contribution has been essential to Dortmund's success, according to Squawka, with Thomas Tuchel's men remaining just five points off Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich:

Speaking of Der FCB, Lewandowski ended his own barren run of three league games without a goal, netting in Saturday's 2-0 defeat of Ingolstadt to move up to third in the Golden Shoe rankings.

The Poland international hasn't been as consistent in his scoring as Aubameyang this season, but his 2015-16 record is prolific nonetheless, as shown by Bleacher Report UK:

"

Robert Lewandowski for Bayern Munich this season: Bundesliga appearances—15 Bundesliga goals—15 [via @WhoScored] pic.twitter.com/kgJbxkK9br

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) December 12, 2015"

Shakhtar Donetsk have now entered their winter break, meaning second-place Alex Teixeira won't resume action in the Ukrainian Premier League until March, and Bayern's front man promises to benefit from his absence. 

Another star who could be missing over the Christmas period is crocked Barca attacker Neymar, who was absent as his side drew 2-2 against Deportivo on Saturday.

Koji Sasahara/Associated Press

Suarez was also unable to hit the target in what was a disappointing result, and Neymar's absence was only too obvious as Luis Enrique's men let slip a 2-0 lead against minor opposition.

With many of Europe's top scorers off their game, Leicester forward Vardy can move up the table by scoring against Chelsea on Monday, having recently seen his record-breaking Premier League run come to an end against Swansea City.