Ranking the 10 best forwards in 2020
The ultimate objective of any footballing side is to score goals and win games. As such, no football team is complete without a proper striker who can find the back of the net on a regular basis.
When we rank the best forwards of 2020, we are not strictly looking at just their goalscoring rates. We're looking at centre-forwards or number 9s who have led from the front for their respective sides and been effective at their jobs.
It's a year where we haven't had the chance to see who gets the Ballon d'Or and as the year draws to a close, it is imperative that we honour the finest footballers from the calendar year. On that note, let's take a look at the 10 best forwards in 2020.
#10 Erling Haaland
The 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund sensation is surely one of the next big things in football. Viewed as a direct successor to the lion Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Erling Haaland is a relentless goalscoring machine.
It's a rare thing to see a 20-year-old striker who is so assured and sorted in his ways. He can physically dominate oppositions and his finishing is elite. It looks like he is having fun on the football pitch every time he breaks into the final third and has been nothing short of an inspired signing for Borussia Dortmund.
Ever since joining Dortmund in January, he has scored 23 goals in the Bundesliga alone. He has scored 10 goals from eight appearances so far in the league this term.
Haaland has been virtually unstoppable in the UEFA Champions League as well and has scored a total of 16 goals in the elite European competition over the last two seasons from across 10 appearances.
#9 Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku is not for everyone. His blunt first touch is a turn-off for most and it was perhaps his biggest undoing at Manchester United. However, he silenced those people who had written him off when he secured the switch to Inter Milan by scoring more than 30 goals in his debut season for the Nerazzurri.
Lukaku has picked up from where he left off last season and he has 11 goals and 2 assists to his name from 13 appearances in the Serie A this so far. He has continued to be an absolute beast in front of goal for Belgium and scored five goals from five appearances in the UEFA Nations League.
He puts his physicality to good use and while he's not great at aerial duels, he more than makes up for it with his pace, movement and ability to physically dominate even the strongest of defenders.
#8 Karim Benzema
The Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is one of the most recognizable players in that storied white shirt of the Blancos now. Several big players have come and gone but Benzema has maintained base at the Santiago Bernabeu and though he is not alien to a rough patch, he has proved that he is a cut above the rest.
At 33, Benzema continues to be one of the finest marksmen on the planet. He is not just a fox-in-the-box. The Frenchman's overall game is well rounded and he is a menacing presence in the final third with his goalscoring as well as creativity.
The Real Madrid no. 9 has scored seven goals and provided five assists in the La Liga already this season from 12 appearances. He scored 21 goals and provided eight assists last season. Benzema still has a lot to offer to the world of football and it is evident from the way he continues to deliver on the big stage.