Golden Shoe 2016-17: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Updated Standings on August 29
Stars from the continent’s top five leagues may be playing catch-up in pursuit of the European Golden Shoe, but Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski showed his razor-sharp instincts in front of goal in Week 1 of the Bundesliga.
The Polish forward got his campaign off to a brilliant start, netting a hat-trick in the 6-0 win over Werder Bremen on Friday. Lewandowski’s main rival for top-scorer status in Germany last year, Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, netted twice in his first outing of the campaign, too.
At the moment, neither feature in the upper echelons of the Golden Shoe standings, though. The top spot belongs to Mikhail Gordeichuk of BATE Borisov, who has 10 goals in the Belarusian top flight and Gerard Gohou, who has netted 15 times for FC Kairat of Kazakhstan.
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Here are the current standings and a closer look at how Europe’s standout marksman fared in their matches over the weekend:
| T1 | Mikhail Gordeichuk | BATE | 10 x 1.5 | 15.0 |
| T1 | Gerard Gohou | Kairat | 15 x 1.0 | 14.0 |
| 3. | Christian Gytkjaer | Rosenborg | 14 x 1.0 | 14.0 |
| T5. | Roope Riski | SJK Seinajoki | 13 x 1.0 | 13.0 |
| T5. | Sakari Tukiainen | FC Flora Talinn | 13 x 1.0 | 13.0 |
| Selected Others | ||||
| - | Alexandre Lacazette | Lyon | 6 x 1.5 | 9.0 |
| - | Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 3 x 2.0 | 6.0 |
| - | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Man Utd | 3 x 2.0 | 6.0 |
| - | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern | 3 x 2.0 | 6.0 |
| - | Carlos Bacca | AC Milan | 3 x 2.0 | 6.0 |
Rules: To calculate a player's points tally, their goals are multiplied by a difficulty constant between one and two depending on which league the goals are scored in.
For example, the Premier League has a rating of two so the goals are doubled, Ligue 1 has a rating of 1.5 and the Norwegian top flight has a rating of one.
Lewandowski Treble Gets Bayern Rolling
Bayern Munich’s development under new manager Carlo Ancelotti was always going to be fascinating this term and their campaign began with a bang on Friday.
Lewandowski has preserved his golden touch in front of goal from last season, too. The Poland international led the line with distinction against Bremen and when the chances did fall to him, he finished with the composure of a man who’s been in sensational form since he rocked up at the Allianz Arena.
As noted by Bleacher Report UK, it was the striker’s 50th goal for Bayern, a landmark he’s reached pretty quickly:
In the Bundesliga, Aubameyang pushed Lewandowski close in the battle to be the division’s top scorer last season, and he showed his qualities with a couple of fine finishes in Dortmund’s win over Mainz.
Dortmund have lost a lot of key players this summer in Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but manager Thomas Tuchel will be delighted his main goal-getter is still at the Westfalenstadion.
This exchange with Lewandowski on Twitter suggests the pair are relishing this rivalry, too:
Elsewhere it was a bittersweet day for Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, who is sitting pretty on six goals in the Ligue 1 season after just three games.
The forward found the net against Dijon on Saturday to put his side 2-1 up, but he hobbled off with a knee injury and Lyon caved in, eventually succumbing to a hugely disappointing 4-2 defeat.
Lacazette can at least console himself with a stunning goalscoring start and one that’s not been matched for a while in the French top flight:
In the Premier League it was a difficult weekend for the top marksmen. Zlatan Ibrahimovic struggled to get into the game for Manchester United, as they snatched a late victory at Hull City on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero could be facing a suspension after his frustrations got the better of him during Manchester City’s tussle with West Ham United on Sunday.
The striker appeared to swing an elbow in the direction of Winston Reid and should retrospective action be taken, he will miss the upcoming Manchester derby.
It was a similar story in La Liga for Barcelona and Real Madrid, with none of their attacking juggernauts finding a groove.
Luis Suarez, last year’s winner, and Lionel Messi were well-marshalled in Barca’s 1-0 win over Athletic Club Bilbao, with Ivan Rakitic netting the decisive goal. Real Madrid toiled to a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo thanks to strikes from Alvaro Morata and Toni Kroos; they should be boosted by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo following the international break.
