Robert Lewandowski and Timo Werner lead race for 2019/20 European Golden Shoe
Robert Lewandowski and Timo Werner are separated by just one goal at the top of this season's Bundesliga scoring charts. They also lead the way in the race to usurp Lionel Messi and claim the 2019/20 European Golden Shoe.
Bayern Munich's Lewandowski is setting the Europe-wide pace with 19 Bundesliga goals so far this term. RB Leipzig counterpart Werner is next on the list with 18, one clear of ex-Borussia Dortmund forward Ciro Immobile (Lazio) and Jamie Vardy (Leceister City).
Barcelona's Messi - who has claimed a record six European Golden Shoes, including the last three - is down in seventh on 13 goals. Former Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also on 13, while new BVB frontman Erling Haaland is one of six players tied in 13th, on 12 for the season.
Watch: All of Lewandowski’s goals in 2019/20 so far
As well as being the 2019/20 top scorer across Europe's top five leagues, Lewandowski heads the UEFA charts for most goals in either the Champions League or Europa League. The Poland international struck 10 times as Bayern became only the seventh team to win all three group games in a single season to set-up a last-16 showdown against English Premier League club Chelsea.
Haaland is second in the standings after scoring eight goals during former employers Red Bull Salzburg's group stage campaign. New UEFA regulations mean the Norwegian teenager, who officially joins Dortmund on 3 January, will be eligible to play for the Black-Yellows in their last-16 clash against Paris Saint-Germain.
Leipzig, meanwhile, take on a Tottenham Hotspur side that lost 7-2 and 3-1 to Bayern in the groups. The current Bundesliga leaders are through to the knockout stage of the competition for the first time in their history, with Werner accounting for three of their 10 Group G-topping goals.
Watch: All 18 of Timo Werner's 2019/20 Bundesliga goals so far
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Bayern legend Gerd Müller is the only Bundesliga-based player since the introduction of the European Golden Shoe in 1968 to win the prize. He did so twice, on the back of 38- and 40-goal hauls in 1969/70 and 1971/72 respectively.
The European Golden Shoe rankings are based on single-season league goals scored, multiplied by a figure indicating the difficulty ranking of each league, according to UEFA coefficient. Only the continent's top five leagues have a x2 multiplier. Middle-ranked divisions have a x1.5 multiplier, while the lower-ranked tiers are set at x1.
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