Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the new leader in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Boot after becoming the first player in the division to reach double figures for goals, maintaining his excellent individual start to the season with a brace in Everton’s weekend win at Fulham.
It’s been a superb start to the campaign for the 23-year-old who has forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad, winning five caps since his debut last month and scoring his first international goals against Wales and Ireland.
Calvert-Lewin’s success has come following a run of form that compares with the best forwards in European football at present, and we’ve decided to look at the most prolific players amongst Europe’s major leagues so far this season.
Here are the four players to score 10+ goals so far this season:
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 10 goals
Calvert-Lewin is currently the leading scorer in the Premier League following his fine form over the opening weeks of the campaign, the forward having made huge strides under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park.
Ancelotti is a huge admirer of a player he felt just needed to fine-tune his game to reach a new level, urging the 23-year-old to study the example of former AC Milan star Filippo Inzaghi and spend more time in central areas.
It is advice that has paid dividends following a marked improvement in front of goal, Calvert-Lewin already just three goals short of his best ever Premier League season after netting 10 times in just nine league appearances.
Each of Calvert-Lewin’s goals have come from inside the penalty area and have come almost exclusively from one-touch finishes, his improving instincts around goal marking him out as one of the Premier League’s most dangerous players.
???? Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the Premier League before Ancelotti's appointment
????♂️ Apps – 94
⚽️ Goals – 16
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????♂️ Apps – 29
⚽️ Goals – 18
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— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) November 22, 2020
Possessing a sensational leap and brilliant ability in the air, no player in the division has scored more goals than the England international since the start of last season, the youngster rapidly becoming the complete centre-forward package.
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Erling Haaland – 10 goals
Erling Haaland has scored goals at a barely believable rate since bursting onto the scene last season, a rate that has shown no signs of slowing during a prolific start to the current campaign.
The Norwegian international has now scored 21 times in just 17 fixtures for club and country this term, reaching double figures for Bundesliga goals with a four-goal haul in Borussia Dortmund’s thumping 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin.
It was a masterful display of finishing from Haaland in the week that he received the Golden Boy award as the finest player in Europe aged 21 or under, each of his goals coming in the second half as Dortmund swept aside the capital club.
Haaland has now scored a staggering 23 goals in 22 league appearances since moving to the Westfalenstadion from Red Bull Salzburg in January, a frightening return for a player still just 20-years-old.
Haaland has shattered all forms of goalscoring records during his rapid rise to prominence, with plenty more set to tumble if the goalscoring sensation continues his current rate of progress.
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 10 goals
Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be at the opposite end of his career to the likes of Haaland and Calvert-Lewin, but the Swedish superstar has proven he is arguably football’s greatest fine wine following a scintillating start to the season at AC Milan.
Ibrahimovic is currently leading the race for the Capocannoniere award as Italy’s leading scorer despite having celebrated his 39th birthday last month, scoring 10 league goals for the season for the unbeaten league leaders including a brace in the 3-1 win at Napoli last weekend.
The ageless star’s first came with a brilliant header from just inside the penalty area, glancing home a cross to continue his rich vein of form for the Rossoneri.
Few could have anticipated the impact Ibrahimovic would have following his return from MLS earlier this year, Zlatan having now scored 20 goals in just 24 appearances in Serie A.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores in his 8th straight Serie A match dating back to last season, the longest streak of his career.
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— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 22, 2020
10 of those have come in just six appearances so far this season, Ibrahimovic the talismanic figure behind the resurgence of arguably football’s biggest sleeping giant.
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Robert Lewandowski – 11 goals
Few will be surprised to see Robert Lewandowski as the leading scorer amongst Europe’s major leagues at present, the brilliant Bayern Munich star arguably the world’s finest footballer on current form.
Lewandowski proved the inspiration behind Bayern’s historic treble-winning season last term, scoring 55 goals in all competitions and finishing as the leading scorer in the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup as the Bavarian giants claimed each prize.
The 31-year-old has wasted little time in continuing those exploits and has 11 goals in just seven league appearances so far this season, the highlight an incredible four-goal display in a thrilling 4-3 win over Hertha Berlin last month.
Lewandowski claimed his second hat-trick of the season as Frankfurt were thrashed 5-0 just two games later, with the Poland international the red-hot favourite to finish as the Bundesliga’s leading scorer for the sixth time in his career and for the fourth consecutive campaign.
His 247 goals in 328 appearances make him the third-highest scorer in Bundesliga history, Klaus Fischer’s second-placed landmark of 268 goals a realistic target before the end of the current season.
