The hottest goalscorers right now in the biggest leagues

We're about halfway through the 2024/2025 season, so let's take a closer look at the hottest goalscorers in Europe's biggest football leagues right now.

Premier League

Liverpool has been unstoppable under their new coach Arne Slot, and a big reason for this is Mohamed Salah, who has found his scoring form again. Salah's goal tally had been declining over the last few seasons, but this season he's already scored 18 Premier League goals-matching his total from last season-which puts him at the top of the scoring chart.

Erling Haaland dominated the scoring charts over the past two seasons in spectacular fashion, but both he and Manchester City have hit an unprecedented slump under Pep Guardiola. Between November 2 and December 21, City managed just one league win, one draw, and six losses in eight matches, during which Haaland scored only once. Despite this, he's still second in the scoring race with 16 goals, although it's worth noting that 10 of those came in his first five matches of the season.

In third place is Alexander Isak with 15 goals. Unlike Haaland, Isak started the season slowly but has since scored in eight consecutive matches, netting 11 goals during this period. This streak has broken Newcastle's record for most consecutive matches with a goal, and he now has his sights set on Jamie Vardy's Premier League record of scoring in 11 straight matches, set during Leicester's miraculous 2015/2016 season.

Who will win the Premier League Golden Boot?

Given Liverpool's strong form this season and Salah's resurgence under Slot, he seems a likely candidate to stay at the top. However, City and Haaland could bounce back, and while City might not catch Liverpool in the title race, Haaland could still score enough to secure his third straight Golden Boot.

Both Isak and Newcastle are in phenomenal form, and if they maintain this level while Haaland doesn't find his scoring touch again, Isak might just pull off a surprise Golden Boot win this season.

La Liga

Robert Lewandowski hasn't quite been the same prolific scorer since leaving Bayern Munich for La Liga and Barcelona, though he did win the 2022/2023 Golden Boot with "just" 23 goals. This season, however, he's back on track with 16 goals already, putting him atop the La Liga scoring chart. But like Haaland and City, both he and Barcelona have hit a rough patch recently, and Lewandowski has scored just twice in his last seven La Liga matches.

In second place is Lewandowski's teammate Raphinha with 11 goals. This is a remarkable achievement for a player not known as a prolific scorer-he had only 13 goals across his previous two seasons with Barcelona. Whether this is just a hot streak or a permanent improvement remains to be seen, but considering he's also scored six goals in six Champions League matches, it's not unthinkable that Raphinha has simply learned how to find the net more effectively this season.

Sharing third place are Osasuna's Ante Budimir and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé, both with 10 goals. Mbappé was the heavy favorite to win the Golden Boot before the season but evidently needs more time to adjust to his new club than most expected.

Who will win the Spanish La Liga Golden Boot?

Can Mbappé catch Lewandowski and win the Golden Boot? It will likely depend on which team performs better in the spring. While Real Madrid has shown better league form recently, Barcelona crushed them 5-2 in the Spanish Supercopa just days ago, so their form can't be too bad. Still, Lewandowski's lead may be too significant for Mbappé to overcome.

Bundesliga

The expected leader in the Bundesliga is, of course, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane. While this season hasn't gone as smoothly as the last (when Kane scored 36 goals), his 16 goals are still an impressive haul halfway through the season.

Second in the scoring chart is Egypt's and Eintracht Frankfurt's rising star Omar Marmoush, with 15 goals. Marmoush made a name for himself last season with 12 league goals (plus four in the Europa Conference League), but few could have predicted his current breakout. A big reason for this is Eintracht's excellent, perhaps overachieving, form as they sit third in the Bundesliga standings.

In third place is Mainz's Jonathan Burkardt with 12 goals. The 24-year-old was once regarded as a promising talent but hadn't lived up to expectations until now. His previous best season was in 2021/2022, with 11 goals-a record he's already broken this season. His strong form has also earned him his debut in the German national team this fall.

Who will win the Bundesliga Golden Boot?

Although Kane's lead is slim, it's hard to imagine anyone else winning the Golden Boot. Marmoush and Burkardt have likely been overperforming, while Kane will likely continue scoring consistently.

Mateo Retegui

Serie A

Italian Serie A top scorer is a somewhat surprising name: Atalanta's Mateo Retegui with 13 goals. The Italian-Argentine 25-year-old had prolific seasons with Tigre in Argentina in 2022 and 2023, but he managed just seven goals last season with Genoa. Evidently, the club change has worked wonders for him and Atalanta (currently third in Serie A).

In second place is Marcus Thuram with 12 goals, just one shy of the 13 he scored last season. With last year's Golden Boot winner and teammate Lautaro Martinez struggling in front of goal, Thuram has stepped up for Inter this season.

Third is the perennial "wonderkid" Moise Kean with 11 goals. Kean went goalless in 19 appearances for Juventus last season, mostly as a substitute though. His poor form prompted Juventus to sell him to Fiorentina, which has proven a stroke of luck for Kean, as he looks stronger than ever.

Who will win the Serie A Golden Boot?

It's hard to predict this season's Golden Boot winner. Preseason favourites like Lautaro Martinez, Dusan Vlahovic, and Romelu Lukaku are all stuck on seven goals and far behind the leaders. Our guess is that Marcus Thuram will ultimately come out on top.

Other Leagues

We'll also take a quick look at the three biggest leagues outside the "big four".

French Ligue 1

Mbappé has won the Ligue 1 top scorer title for the past six seasons, and with him gone, the door has opened for others to claim the crown. Lille's Jonathan David, a consistently reliable scorer for several seasons, continues to deliver this year. He currently leads the scoring charts with 11 goals, though he shares the top spot with Marseille's much-criticized Englishman, Mason Greenwood.

Close behind the leaders are two Paris Saint-Germain players, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé, both of whom have netted 10 goals each.

Portuguese Primeira Liga

Swedish star Viktor Gyökeres dominated Primeira Liga last season, winning the Golden Boot with 30 goals, and he has continued in the same vein this season. So far, he has scored 21 goals in 17 matches, including three hat tricks (and even a four-goal game). This remarkable tally puts him firmly at the top of the leaderboard. Both Sporting and Gyökeres struggled initially after star coach Ruben Amorim left for Manchester United, but they have found their form again under new manager Rui Borges (João Pereira briefly took over but was sacked after a string of poor performances).

In second place is Porto's Spanish striker Samu Aghehowa (formerly known as Samuel Omorodion) with 13 goals, leaving him far behind Gyökeres. Further down are Rio Ave's Brazilian forward Clayton with 9 goals and another Brazilian, Galeno from Porto, with 8 goals.

Dutch Eredivisie

Surprisingly, Twente's Dutch forward Sem Steijn leads the Eredivisie scoring chart with an impressive 15 goals. This is unexpected, as Steijn doesn't play for any of the three traditional Dutch giants, but the 23-year-old showed his scoring prowess last season with 17 goals.

Trailing behind are PSV Eindhoven's American striker Ricardo Pepi and AZ Alkmaar's Irish forward Troy Parrott, both with 10 goals. Last season's top scorer, PSV veteran Luuk de Jong, follows with 9 goals.