Top 10 goal-scorers in Europe's top five leagues this season
A lot of goals have been scored in Europe's top five leagues this season, and we are only halfway past the ongoing campaign. Despite the pandemic and its consequences, 'Expect the unexpected' has indeed been this season's theme.
In the Premier League, defending champions Liverpool have visibly struggled and currently find themselves in fourth place - ten points adrift of league-leaders Manchester City. Plagued by injuries to key players, goal-shy Liverpool's title defence is almost in tatters, and even a top-four finish could be a challenging proposition for them.
La Liga has also thrown up a few surprises; the usual suspects - Barcelona and Real Madrid - have struggled to cope with leaders Atletico Madrid, who currently hold an 8-point lead at the top and have a game to spare. Though Barcelona have scored the most La Liga goals this season - led by the irrepressible Lionel Messi - they are unlikely to mount a title challenge.
AC Milan have seemingly laid siege in the Serie A, as they hold the top spot on the table, holding off the likes of Inter Milan and Juventus. The Bianconeri, powered by Cristiano Ronaldo's goals, have had an indifferent campaign and find themselves in third places, seven points off the league summit.
Ligue 1's defending champions - Paris Saint-Germain - have also failed to assert their dominance in the league; they are third in the division, albeit just three points shy of league-leaders Lille, who were not expected to sit atop the table 24 games into the season.
However, Bayern Munich are the only defending champions in Europe's top 5 divisions who are topping their league table. The Bavarian giants have scored a whopping 58 goals, which is 17 more than any other club in the division. Bayern are also seven points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig, who have scored only 35 goals.
Top ten goal-scorers in Europe's top five leagues in 2020-21
With surprises galore across the board, the usual goal-scorers have been joined by a few others in the top echelons of the goal-scoring charts.
On that note, let us have a look at the ten most prolific goal-scorers in Europe's top five leagues as on 8th February 2021.
#10 Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 14 goals in 19 games
Lazio are the only team to have won all of their last five matches in Serie A. Their success is directly attributable to the form of their main striker, Ciro Immobile. who has scored goals galore this season after a 36-goal campaign in 2019-20.
The 30-year-old has been one of the most prolific strikers in the world in the past few years, and this season has been no different.
In 19 Serie A appearances for Lazio this season, Immobile has scored 14 goals and assisted three more, helping Lazio to fifth place in the league table.
#9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) - 14 goals in 11 games
The fact that he is 39 years old seemingly means nothing to AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who continues to enthrall the world with his fabulous footballing abilities.
Throughout his career, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has delivered goals with remarkable consistency, and age truly is just a number for the Swedish superstar.
In only 11 appearances for AC Milan in the 2020-21 Serie A, Ibrahimovic has already scored 14 goals, doing so at an incredible conversion rate of more than a goal per game.
There is little doubt that Zlatan Ibrahimovich's rich goal-scoring form will be crucial for AC Milan holding off serial winners Juventus and win their first league title in a decade.