Golden Shoe 2019-20: Top Goalscorers in Europe, Latest Points on March 16
March 16, 2020
Jamie Vardy drew level with Barcelona's Lionel Messi in the race for the European Golden Shoe with his brace against Aston Villa on March 9.
The Englishman helped fire Leicester City to a 4-0 victory at the King Power Stadium before the Premier League season was suspended due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The rest of Europe's other top-five leagues have also been brought to a halt, so Vardy's goals are the only change to the top 10.
Golden Shoe Standings
1. Ciro Immobile, Lazio: 27 x 2.0 = 54.0
2. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich: 25 x 2.0 = 50.0
T3. Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus: 21 x 2.0 = 42.0
T3. Timo Werner, RB Leipzig: 21 x 2.0 = 42.0
T3. Erling Haaland, Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund: 16 x 1.5, 9 x 2.0 = 42.0
T6. Lionel Messi, Barcelona: 19 x 2.0 = 38.0
T6. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City: 19 x 2.0 = 38.0
8. Kylian Mbappe, PSG: 18 x 2.0 = 36.0
T9. Romelu Lukaku, Inter Milan: 17 x 2.0 = 34.0
T9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal: 17 x 2.0 = 34.0
T9. Wissam Ben Yedder, Monaco: 17 x 2.0 = 34.0
Rules: UEFA has assigned every European league a difficulty rating between one and two. That rating is multiplied by a player's amount of goals to come up with a final point total.
For example, the Austrian Bundesliga has a rating of 1.5, while the German Bundesliga has a rating of two, so Erling Haaland's goals for Borussia Dortmund are worth more points than those he scored for Red Bull Salzburg before the January transfer window.
Vardy hit 17 Premier League goals by December 21, but he had not scored since then in any competition.
After sitting out Leicester's previous two matches, he came off the bench to make his 300th appearance for the Foxes in their clash with Villa.
He celebrated the milestone with a brace, despite playing just 31 minutes.
The striker dispatched a penalty minutes after coming on, before beating Pepe Reina at his near post:
It was a ruthless performance from the hitman:
The pair also left him on 99 Premier League goals. The Athletic's Ryan Conway hailed the impact he's had in a relatively short space of time in the English top flight:
Vardy now stands alone atop the race for the Premier League's Golden Boot, and he's surpassed last season's league tally of 18.
He needs five more to equal his best campaign in the top flight, when he scored 24 goals to help the Foxes win the title in 2015-16.