Golden Shoe 2017-18: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Updated Points on January 8

Ciro Immobile's four-goal haul for Lazio against SPAL on Saturday propelled him to the front of the race for the European Golden Shoe. 

Meanwhile Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi and Barcelona star Lionel Messi added to their goal tallies to consolidate their position in the top 10.

Here are the standings:

1. Ciro Immobile, Lazio. 20 goals x 2.0 difficulty factor = 40.0 points

2. Edinson Cavani, Paris Saint-Germain. 19 x 2.0 = 38.0 points

T3. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur. 18 x 2.0 = 36.0 points

T3. Mauro Icardi, Inter Milan. 18 x 2.0 = 36.0 points

5. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool. 17 x 2.0 = 34.0 points

6. Lionel Messi, Barcelona. 16 x 2.0 = 32.0 points

T7. Radamel Falcao, Monaco. 15 x 2.0 = 30.0 points

T7. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich. 15 x 2.0 = 30.0 points

9. Jonas, Benfica. 20 x 1.5 = 30.0 points

10. Igor Angulo, Gornik Zabrze. 19 x 1.5 = 28.5 points

Rules: Each European league is assigned a difficulty constant by UEFA between one and two. The constant is multiplied by a player's goal tally to reach their points total.

For example, goals in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga are worth two points each as that is their constant, while the Primeira Liga has a rating of just 1.5 and so goals there are worth less.

Immobile Shoots to the Top of the Standings

Immobile put in a sensational performance as Lazio dispatched SPAL 5-2 in a pulsating clash on Saturday.

After Mirco Antenucci cancelled out Luis Alberto's early effort, Immobile grabbed his first with a deft chip over Alfred Gomis before finishing one-on-one past the stopper soon after.

Antenucci grabbed his second before Immobile sealed a hat-trick on 41 minutes, and he had his fourth shortly after half-time.

Immobile was ruthless in front of goal, as Squawka Football noted:

BT Sport's James Horncastle and football writer David Amoyal put his achievement into context:

The striker only joined Lazio in the summer of 2016, and he already has 52 goals for the club in 65 appearances, putting to bed his difficult spell at Borussia Dortmund.

Immobile needs just three more goals to achieve the same number of Serie A strikes he produced last season, and if he can maintain his superb form he'll be in contention for the Golden Shoe come the end of the season.

So too might last season's winner Messi after he netted his 16th La Liga goal of the campaign.

The Argentinian ran the show as Barcelona beat Levante 3-0, opening the scoring with a deft volley before dancing through their defence to feed Paulinho, after Luis Suarez had netted their second.

Per Barcelona's official Twitter feed, the match marked yet another remarkable milestone for the talisman:

With Philippe Coutinho set to offer the side more creativity in the second half of the campaign, Messi might have even more opportunity to find the net in the coming months.

On Friday, Icardi kicked off 2018 with a goal in Inter's 1-1 draw with Fiorentina, tapping home a rebound after Marco Sportiello kept out his initial header. The striker's effort was eventually cancelled out by Giovanni Simeone's injury-time equaliser.

Inter have 35 goals in the Italian top flight compared with Lazio's 48, but Icardi is just two behind Immobile despite his side being far less free-scoring than his rival's.

The pair look set to contest a close race both for the Golden Shoe and to become Serie A's capocannoniere, a title they have each won once apiece.