We’re now into the second international break of the season and things are starting to take shape across Europe’s top five leagues.
Chelsea, PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Napoli top the tables and we’re beginning to get an idea of which clubs and players will dominate the 2021-22 season.
Here’s a list of the top 10 players from Ligue 1, the Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga and Serie A in terms of their combined goals and assists contributions. Interestingly, neither PSG’s Lionel Messi nor Tottenham’s Harry Kane – who both tore things up last season – are yet to register a single league goal or assist.
Note: where players are tied on goals and assists, we’ve listed them in order of their best minutes-per-goal-contribution rate.
10. Edin Dzeko
The likes of Paul Pogba (seven assists, no goals) and Kylian Mbappe (four goals, three assists) miss out on sneaking into the top 10 by virtue of Dzeko demonstrating that class is permanent at the age of 35, bettering their minutes rate by averaging a goal or assist every 74 minutes.
Some eyebrows were raised when Inter moved to sign the veteran former Manchester City striker, but he’s stepped up to fill the void left by Romelu Lukaku with six goals and one assist in seven Serie A appearances – he’s been particularly potent of late, with five of those goals coming in his last four games.
6 – Edin Dzeko is the first player, in his first campaign for the Nerazzurri, to have scored at least six goals in Inter’s first seven Serie A seasonal games played since Ronaldo in 1997/98. Entrance.#SerieA #SassuoloInter pic.twitter.com/r1mAZkhNRI
— OptaPaolo 🏆 (@OptaPaolo) October 2, 2021
9. Ludovic Ajorque
Ajorque has been a major factor in Strasbourg re-establishing themselves as a sturdy Ligue 1 side in recent seasons, and 2021-22 is proving no different.
The striker has three goals and five assists so far and looks to have established an effective partnership up top alongside summer signing Kevin Gameiro.
8. Amine Gouiri
The Nice attacking midfielder has been linked with the likes of Liverpool, and it’s not difficult to see why – the 21-year-old is already up to five goals and three assists in 2021-22.
Mbappe is also a fan. “I watch nearly all the Ligue 1 matches. I am following OGC Nice particularly closely. Gouiri is really not bad at all!” the PSG star said in a recent interview.
7. Robert Lewandowski
No list involving goalscoring would be complete without Lewandowski, who continued where he left off in terms of his last blistering, record-breaking campaign by extending his run to 19 successive games for Bayern on the scoresheet.
The Ballon d’Or front-runner has scored seven goals (plus one assist) in seven Bundesliga appearances so far this season. It’s a testament to his ridiculous ability that a goal a game is actually kind of predictable.
6. Michail Antonio
West Ham talisman Antonio – now their all-time top scorer in the Premier League – has surprisingly never scored more than 10 goals in one campaign.
You’d imagine that will change this season; he’s scored five goals and assisted a further three for good measure in his first six appearances.
READ: Michail Antonio & a record-equalling goal that was ‘not bad for a right-back’
5. Ciro Immobile
It’s been an up-and-down start to life at Lazio for Maurizio Sarri, but you can always depend on Immobile to keep banging in the goals.
The Italian striker has scored a ridiculous 156 goals in 227 appearances since rejoining the Biancocelesti in 2016 and is keeping it up in 2021-22 – he’s scored six goals in six Serie A appearances, and has also set up a couple more for good measure.
4. Mohamed Salah
The “best player in the world” according to totally non-biased pundit Jamie Carragher, Liverpool’s Egyptian King is making a pretty convincing argument on current form – you only need to see how he set up Sadio Mane before scoring himself against Manchester City to see how dangerous he is.
His masterclass performance against City keeps him tied with Jamie Vardy as the Premier League’s top scorer on six goals, while he’s also registered three assists.
Current status: watching this on repeat 🔁🤩
𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 of @MoSalah’s incredible strike, presented by @Sonos 🎥 pic.twitter.com/K2KOuVr0G0
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 4, 2021
3. Florian Wirtz
No player in Europe’s top five leagues has better ratio in terms of goals and assists per minute this season than Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Wirtz.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder rarely completes 90 minutes and has been used as a substitute on a couple of occasions, but whatever the occasion he tends to make things happen.
He’s scored or assisted – sometimes both – in all of his appearances for his club this season, averaging a direct contribution every 40 minutes in the Bundesliga (four goals, five assists).
2. Erling Haaland
The most in-demand youngster in the world continues to prove he’s the real deal at Borussia Dortmund.
In spite of struggling with injury – he’s sat out a couple of games already – Haaland continues to terrorise defences, with seven goals and three assists from just five Bundesliga appearances, averaging a goal contribution every 45 minutes.
Speechless. 😱 @ErlingHaaland #BVBFCU pic.twitter.com/rdswc7SICG
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) September 19, 2021
1. Karim Benzema
La Liga might have lost Lionel Messi, but King Karim has stepped up to fill the void in terms of registering mind-blowing numbers. Not only is Benzema the top scorer in Europe’s top leagues (nine goals) but he’s also the top assister (joint with France team-mate Paul Pogba on seven).
That’s a direct hand in 72% of Real Madrid’s league goals this season and puts him way out in front in terms of goal contributions – six more than anybody else in Europe’s major leagues already.
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