Mohamed Salah leading the way in the race for European Golden Shoe

March 19, 2018
Press Association

Mohamed Salah took the lead in the European Golden Shoe standings with his four goals against Watford at the weekend.

The award is presented by European Sports Media (ESM) to the top-ranked goalscorer in the continent, with a higher weighting given to goals in UEFA’s top five leagues—the Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at the top 10.

1. Mohamed Salah

Club: Liverpool

Goals: 28

Points: 56

The Egypt forward has found the net in 20 of his 30 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, hitting multiple goals on six occasions including Saturday’s four-goal haul.

2. Lionel Messi

Club: Barcelona

Goals: 25

Points: 50

Last season’s winner is Salah’s closest challenger this time around after netting his 25th of the LaLiga season in Sunday’s win over Athletic Bilbao.

3. Ciro Immobile

Club: Lazio

Goals: 24

Points: 48

The next three players are tied on 24 goals but the Italy international has reached the mark in fewer appearances, 26, than Cavani or Kane.

He scored three against AC Milan in September and four against SPAL in January to better his 23 league goals from last season.

4. Edinson Cavani

Club: Paris St Germain

Goals: 24

Points: 48

The summer signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe could have left Cavani out in the cold and there were reports of an early-season falling-out with the Brazil star over penalty duties, but Cavani has once again been front and centre to back up his 35-goal Ligue 1 campaign last time out.

5. Harry Kane

Club: Tottenham

Goals: 24

Points: 48

The Spurs and England striker has won the Premier League’s Golden Boot for the last two seasons and was in contention to add the continental equivalent this time around until an ankle injury against Bournemouth dented his hopes.

6. Jonas

Club: Benfica

Goals: 31

Points: 46.5

The top-scoring player on this list, though his goals have come in the Portuguese Liga where a lower UEFA co-efficient means he earns only 1.5 points per goal, rather than two for goals in the ‘big five’ leagues.

7. Robert Lewandowski

Club: Bayern Munich

Goals: 23

Points: 46

Bayern’s Poland international has been a fixture on the list in recent seasons and a hat-trick against Hamburg took him to 100 Bundesliga goals for the club.

He also scored in his first 11 home league games of the season, equalling a German record set by his coach Jupp Heynckes 45 years ago.