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The 2018/19 season in the European leagues officially ended last weekend when the likes of Serie A and Ligue 1 wrapped up their final round of games. And boy, what a season it was!
There are so many issues to ponder over, so many moments to ruminate on, so many incidents to contemplate about... But why not just content ourselves with that one aspect which thrills us the most - goals!
The Premier League witnessed the highest return of goals among any of the Europe's top five league with as many as three players finishing atop the scoring charts. In La Liga, it was the Lionel Messi show.
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The Serie A and Bundesliga too witnessed some close competitions among players for the domestic Golden Boot. However, certain teams in each league boasted not one but two prolific forwards to produce a barnstorming tally of strikes.
Let's rank those five highest scoring attacking duos of the season:
#5 Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - 38 goals
Manchester City fell just two points short of emulating the historic return of 100 points of last year, but went one better in terms of trophy haul as Pep Guardiola’s swashbuckling outfit completed an unprecedented domestic treble this term.
Spearheading another resounding success were Aguero and Sterling, who both had a campaign to remember. The Argentine ace was merely doing what he does best, and plundered 21 goals in the league, including the consecutive hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea at home.
Sterling on the other hand, made waves again with 17 goals and 12 assists in 34 appearances as he not only continued his development into a world-class forward, but also swept the PFA Young Player of the Year prize along the way.
Together, the City duo accounted for 38 league goals, which is exactly 40 percent of the total scored by the Skyblues in 2018/19 campaign.
#4 Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech (Ajax FC) - 44 goals
The 2018/19 season may be the harbinger of another golden period in Ajax’s fabled history, as the young and exuberant side took Europe by storm with an effervescent brand of football that yielded the league and cup double, as well as a first Champions League semi-final appearance in 20 years.
Matthijs de Ligt, Donny van de Beek, and Frenkie de Jong are some of the youngsters who made constant headlines, but Tadic and Ziyech were the creative engine which kept de Godenzonen ticking.
A catastrophe at Southampton, Tadic breathed new life in his career with 28 league goals and 14 assists - his best return till date. He was ably complemented in the attacking vanguard by his Moroccan counterpart, who struck 16 times but assisted 17.
And it’s owing to this similarly prolific assist tally for which the talismanic Ajax duo are ranked higher than their Liverpool counterparts.
#3 Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane (Liverpool) - 44 goals
Liverpool’s surge to 97 points in the Premier League could have won them the title on 113 occasions out of 119. But unfortunately, the 2018/19 season wasn’t one of them, as City pipped them to the title by just a point.
And as anguish and agonizing the Reds faithful might have felt, it was a season to remember. Several players were at the top of their game, firing relentlessly at all cylinders. Among them were Salah and Mane, who together accrued 44 of Liverpool’s 89 goals - almost half of the tally.
The Egyptian squashed all chatters of being a flash in the pan, scoring 22 times and retaining the Golden Boot. Mane was in the form of his life too and posted his career best figures with another 22 goals.
Both players were heavily involved in the title race with crucial interventions in the big games and also ensured the Reds don’t slip-up during the home stretch, for instance, scoring apiece in the 2-0 win over Chelsea, Mane bagging a brace against Wolves on the final matchday etc.
#2 Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani (PSG) - 51 goals
Having finished the campaign with only the league title to celebrate, PSG have had a mediocre season under Thomas Tuchel’s first year in-charge. Even the domestic campaign lost steam towards the end when the Parisians won only thrice in the last nine games and lost four times. But luckily for them, the league had already sewn up by then.
That wouldn’t have been possible without the undisputed star of PSG’s season Kylian Mbappe, who just pushed the bar further after winning the World Cup last summer with France.
With a staggering 33 goals, the 19-year old only trailed Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in the European Golden Boot, but was adjudged as Ligue 1’s Player of the Year and also claimed the domestic Golden Boot. And remember, he missed six games due to a red card suspension!
Cavani’s season was blighted with injuries, missing 15 games in all competitions including some big ones in the process. But that didn’t stop him from scoring 18 times in the league and finish as the third highest goalscorer for the season.
He also scored two hat-tricks, against Monaco and Guingamp. And those wondering about Neymar, he’s slightly behind with 15 strikes, and he too had injury issues to contend with.
#1 Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona) - 57 goals
Barcelona’s potentially treble-winning season ended in a whimper after the 4-0 humbling at Liverpool and the Copa Del Rey final loss to Valencia. But Messi fans in particular can rejoice that the Argentine ace enjoyed another fruitful year.
With 36 league goals, Messi claimed his sixth Pichichi as well as the European Golden Boot by a mile. He literally peeled this rag-tag outfit off the ground on multiple occasions and without him, it could’ve been far worse for the Blaugrana.
His partner-in-crime Luis Suarez contrastingly had an underwhelming campaign by his own stratospheric standards. Yet, he managed to fire 21 goals and achieve a second position in La Liga’s scoring charts.
His highlight of the season was the hat-trick against Real Madrid in the 5-1 demolition, whereas Messi bagged similar feat against Levante, Real Betis and Sevilla for the most hat-tricks in the season.
