Golden Shoe 2019-20: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Latest Points on Dec. 30
The arrival of Christmas meant most of Europe's major leagues enjoyed a break over the festive period, but Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski still leads the race's for Europe's Golden Shoe.
The 31-year-old remains just ahead of Bundesliga rival Timo Werner on 19 league goals this season, one ahead of the RB Leipzig star and six in front of Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi (13 goals).
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang perfectly timed his run into the Golden Shoe's top 10 after scoring in back-to-back games for Arsenal, though Mikel Arteta is still yet to win as Gunners manager.
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Leicester City star Jamie Vardy hasn't been quite as active during the Premier League's Christmas schedule, but he retains a share of third alongside Lazio's Ciro Immobile, who also has 17 league goals this campaign.
1. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich: 19 x 2.0 = 38.0
2. Timo Werner, RB Leipzig: 18 x 2.0 = 36.0
T3. Ciro Immobile, Lazio: 17 x 2.0 = 34.0
T3. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City: 17 x 2.0 = 34.0
5. Erik Sorga, Flora Tallinn: 31 x 1.0 = 31.0
6. Ilia Shkurin, Energetik-BGU Minsk: 19 x 1.5 = 28.5
T7. Lionel Messi, Barcelona: 13 x 2.0 = 26.0
T7. Wissam Ben Yedder, AS Monaco: 13 x 2.0 = 26.0
T7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal: 13 x 2.0 = 26.0
T10. Kamil Wilczek, Brondby: 17 x 1.5 = 25.5
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.
It seems all too likely the Golden Shoe rankings will soon christen a new leader considering it will be more than a fortnight until the Bundesliga resumes, but Lewandowski will enjoy his prime placement for now.
The Pole has led the continental scoring stakes since the beginning of the season and is still benefiting after he scored in each of the first 11 Bundesliga games of the campaign.
No player among the current top 10 has a superior goals-per-game ratio than Lewandowski's 1.12, having bagged 19 times in 17 league appearances this season. Red Bull Salzburg's Erling Haaland—who is set to play for Borussia Dortmund in the New Year—has netted 16 in 14 Austrian league games this term (1.14 goals per game), but he is no longer in the top 10 scorers in Europe.
Lewandowski recently celebrated the end of a prolific calendar year at the Allianz Arena, with Die Roten (third in the Bundesliga) next scheduled to visit Hertha Berlin on January 19:
Leipzig host mid-table outfit Union Berlin the day prior to that, when Werner will hope to close the gap or possibly even overtake his league rival in the rankings.
A two-horse race has already unfolded in the German top flight's jostle for the Golden Boot—which Lewandowski hopes to win for a third straight year (fifth time overall)—per DW Sports:
The Premier League offered European football fans some rare action during the Christmas break. Vardy's party was halted, however, as Leicester went successive league games without the English star scoring for the first time since September.
The Foxes frontman was held when leaders Liverpool triumphed 4-0 at Leicester on Boxing Day, while Brendan Rodgers opted to rest Vardy for a 2-1 win away to West Ham United on Saturday.
Aubameyang had slightly more fortune and bagged the equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth before he scored the opener in a 2-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on Sunday, via Sky Sports (UK viewers only):
The Gunners have failed to get results despite seeing their star hitman regain some consistency up top. However, one Arsenal fan highlighted him as a rare bright spot in his team during a recent phone-in to BBC 606:
Aubameyang's consolation against Chelsea was his 13th league goal this term, pulling him level with Messi and AS Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder (though he's played seven games and four games more, respectively).
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, Romelu Lukaku of Inter Milan and Haaland each fall just outside of the top 10 following Aubameyang's rise back into the frame.
