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Golden Shoe 2019-20: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Latest Points on December 9
December 9, 2019
Jamie Vardy netted a double in Leicester City's 4-1 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday to take his tally for the season to 16 goals.
Timo Werner also scored twice in RB Leipzig's 3-1 win over Hoffenheim and now has 15 for the Bundesliga season, just two fewer than 2019-20 European Golden Shoe front-runner Ciro Immobile.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi broke into the top 10 for the first time this season after he scored a hat-trick for Barcelona against Mallorca.
1. Ciro Immobile, Lazio: 17 x 2.0 = 34.0
T2. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich: 16 x 2.0 = 32.0
T2. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City: 16 x 2.0 = 32.0
4. Erik Sorga, Flora Tallinn: 31 x 1.0 = 31.0
5. Timo Werner, RB Leipzig: 15 x 2.0 = 30.0
6. Ilia Shkurin, Energetik-BGU Minsk: 19 x 1.5 = 28.5
7. Kamil Wilczek, Brondby: 17 x 1.5 = 25.5
T7. Lionel Messi, Barcelona: 12 x 2.0 = 24.0
T7. Erling Haaland, Red Bull Salzburg: 16 x 1.5 = 24.0
T7. Shon Weissman, Wolfsberger: 16 x 1.5 = 24.0
Rules: UEFA has assigned every European league a difficulty rating between one and two, which is multiplied by a player's goal tally to calculate their points total.
For example, Serie A has a maximum rating of two, so Immobile's goals are worth more than Ilia Shkurin's goals in the Belarusian Premier League, which has a rating of 1.5.
Vardy, 32, is in a supreme vein of form. His two goals against Villa helped Leicester to a record-breaking eighth consecutive win in the Premier League:
The Englishman also has his sights on his own record of scoring in 11 consecutive games, set during Leicester's title-winning season in 2015-16:
After 16 games of that remarkable campaign under manager Claudio Ranieri, the Foxes had 35 points and were top of the table by two points ahead of Arsenal.
At the same stage this season, Brendan Rodgers' side have accrued 38 points, but they sit second, eight points behind league leaders Liverpool.
After Manchester City's 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Saturday, Leicester have been left as the Reds' only realistic challengers for the title this term.
It will be a hard ask to push Jurgen Klopp's superlative side all the way, but if Vardy keeps on scoring, it is far from impossible.
Meanwhile, if Messi's form remains at its current level, it is difficult to see any side other than Barcelona winning La Liga, even though it is tight at the head of the Spanish top flight at the moment:
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner can beat sides on his own, and Mallorca were the latest victims of his relentless talent on Saturday.
The Argentinian netted three sumptuous left-footed strikes at the Camp Nou to move to 12 goals in 10 games in the 2019-20 La Liga campaign:
Messi now sits atop the scoring charts in La Liga despite missing five of Barca's first seven games through injury.
The Blaugrana have not been at their best as a whole for much of the campaign so far, but if Messi remains in unstoppable form, they will be competing at the top of the table throughout the season.