By now we all know who will be contending for the golden boot come the end of the season – but which of Europe’s super-charged strikers make the best use of their time on the pitch?
Taking into account each player’s domestic league and the Champions League combined, we’ve worked out which of the top scorers this season have the best goals to minutes ratio.
WARNING: This list does not include Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as both missed the cut.
5. NEYMAR – 93.6 minutes per goal (2247 minutes, 24 goals)
The most expensive player in the world only makes it to number five in this list.
He has scored 24 goals in just 25 games but is very rarely subbed off by Paris-Saint Germain boss Unai Emery, meaning he has so far not been as efficient a goal-scorer as the men to follow.
Given the fact that he plays weaker opposition in Ligue 1, he perhaps should have scored even more – though, in fairness to the Brazilian, he has also contributed with 14 assists.
4. MOHAMED SALAH – 93.4 minutes per goal (2614 minutes, 28 goals)
The Arab superstar is toppling record after record with Liverpool and became the second-fastest player in the club’s history to reach 30 goals. It took Salah just 36 games and only George Allan, a player from the 19th century, had reached the landmark more quickly.
Taking into account just the Premier League and Champions League and unsurprisingly Salah also shapes up pretty well.
Despite being a winger – though in Liverpool’s fluid three, normal rules don’t necessarily apply – the Egyptian is a shade more lethal than Neymar. Not bad for someone who cost a fraction as much.
Mo goals please: Salah has been a revelation for Liverpool.
3. EDINSON CAVANI – 92 minutes per goal (2483 minutes, 27 goals)
Ligue 1 or no Ligue 1, it’s mightily impressive that PSG can boast two of the most dangerous strikers in the continent – and that’s even while they’ve been at war with each other.
Cavani, at 31, is the oldest entrant of this list and has got better with every passing year in Paris, especially in the Champions League, where he fired another six goals in the group stage this season.
How PSG hope both Neymar and Cavani improved their ratios just that little bit more when Real Madrid come to town next month.
2. HARRY KANE – 91.2 minutes per goal (2,735 minutes, 30 goals)
Harry Kane has played a staggering amount of football already this year. At 2,735, he tops the list for minutes played and it’s a figure that should concern England heading into the World Cup.
He’s made full use of each and every one of them, however, hitting 30 goals for the season in the Premier League and UCL combined when he rounded Gianluigi Buffon in Turin on Tuesday.
Earning his Spurs: Kane has scored 30 Premier League and European goals combined.
1. SERGIO AGUERO – 88.2 minutes per goal (2,204 minutes, 25 goals)
Pep Guardiola was reportedly lukewarm on Sergio Aguero earlier in the season but the red-hot Argentinian simply cannot be ignored – as his table-topping place in this list underlines.
With Gabriel Jesus out injured over the last two months, Aguero has made full use of being the focal point in attack including his four strikes against Leicester.
He is the only striker to be averaging more than a goal a game when taking into account top-flight and Champions League football.
The only mark against his name is that against tougher opposition, the goals have not been quite as forthcoming – Arsenal, Liverpool and Napoli are the only truly top teams that Aguero has found a way past this season.
