Cristiano Ronaldo consolidates position as Europe’s leading goalscorer

Last weeek we asked what had happened to Cristiano Ronaldo? Having seen his lead over Lionel Messi at the top of the ESM Golden Shoe standings cut from twelve goals to two, it looked to be only a matter of time before his once-unassailable lead would evaporate altogether.

However, the Real Madrid striker was back among the goals on Sunday, scoring the second in his side’s 2-0 win at Elche. It took Ronaldo to 29 for the season, 3 ahead of arch-rival Messi, whose stunning run of form came to a juddering halt as Barcelona went down 1-0 at home to Malaga.

Elsewhere in the top ten, it was a quiet week with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero on target against Newcastle. That goal took the Argentinian striker to 17 for the season – level with Premier League rival Diego Costa who has banged in the same number of goals for Chelsea.

There was a new entrant in the top 10 with Arjen Robben scoring twice in Bayern Munich’s 6-0 win over Paderborn, to take the Dutch forward’s tally for the season to 16.

POS PLAYER TEAM GOALS FACTOR PTS

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 29 x 2 = 58
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 26 x 2 = 52
3. Evgeni Kabaev (Sillamäe Kalev) 36 x 1 = 36
4. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) 17 x 2 = 34
Diego Costa (Chelsea) 17 x 2 = 34
‘Neymar’ da Silva (Barcelona) 17 x 2 = 34
7. Andrej Kramaric (HNK Rijeka/Leicester City) 21 x 1,5 + 1 x 2 = 33,5
8. Jackson Martinez (FC Porto) 16 x 2 = 32
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) 16 x 2 = 32
Igor Subbotin (Levadia Tallinn) 32 x 1 = 32
11. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) 21 x 1,5 = 31,5
Jonatan Soriano (Red Bull Salzburg) 21 x 1,5 = 31,5
13. Fabrice Kouadio ‘Manucho’ (FC Infonet) 30 x 1 = 30
14. Eran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 19 x 1,5 = 28,5
15. Charlie Austin (Queens Park Rangers) 14 x 2 = 28
Carlos Bacca (Sevilla) 14 x 2 = 28
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid) 14 x 2 = 28
Vladislavs Gutkovskis (Skonto Riga) 28 x 1 = 28
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) 14 x 2 = 28
Alexander Meier (Eintracht Frankfurt) 14 x 2 = 28
Carlos Tevez (Juventus) 14 x 2 = 28
22. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 13 x 2 = 26
Mauro Icardi (Internazionale) 13 x 2 = 26
24. Vidar Örn Kjartansson (Valerenga IF) 25 x 1 = 25
Chris Venables (Aberystwyth Town) 25 x 1 = 25
26. Paulo Dybala (Palermo) 12 x 2 = 24
Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli) 12 x 2 = 24
Mario Mandzukic (Atlético Madrid) 12 x 2 = 24
Jérémy Menez (Milan) 12 x 2 = 24
Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) 12 x 2 = 24
Edison Luis dos Santos ‘Tarabai’ (Hibernian FC) 24 x 1 = 24
32. Joe Gormley (Cliftonville) 23 x 1 = 23
Janis Ikaunieks (Metalurgs Liepajas) 23 x 1 = 23
Lasse Vibe (IFK Göteborg) 23 x 1 = 23
35. Robert Beric (Rapid Vienna) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Memphis Depay (PSV) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Mickaël Poté (Omonia Nicosia) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
Nikolai Yanush (Shakhtyor Soligorsk) 15 x 1,5 = 22,5
39. ‘André’ Filipe Bras André (Vitoria Guimarães) 11 x 2 = 22
Bas Dost (Wolfsburg) 11 x 2 = 22
Ahmed Hassan Mahgoub ‘Koka’ (Rio Ave) 11 x 2 = 22
Klaemint Olsen (NSI) 22 x 1 = 22
Albert Prosa (Flora Tallinn) 22 x 1 = 22
Luciano Víetto (Villarreal) 11 x 2 = 22