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Hello and welcome to our assessment of the top contenders for the LaLiga Golden Boot at the start of November. The list sees a lot of movement in the whole month and the race to the Golden Boot has become quite exciting right now.
The month of October was hard on a couple of players who saw their stakes drop and had to exit the list. Welsh International Gareth Bale could not find the net in October and has now not scored since 1st September! Incidentally, Bale's compatriot at Real Madrid, Karim Benzema, just misses out owing to a weaker goal to games ratio. The French striker has not scored in October either. Like Bale, Benzema has not scored since 1st September in the LaLiga.
However, there is still plenty of firepower in the list and the 10 players in this list have scored a combined 62 goals in the LaLiga so far this season! From Celta de Vigo to Levante, from Barcelona to Espanyol, from Girona to Seville FC, some fantastic strikers make up this list. Interestingly, Seville dominates the list, contributing 3 players.
Who leads the race to the LaLiga Golden Boot at the start of November?
#10 Maximiliano Gomez (Uruguay, Celta de Vigo)
Goals Scored: 4
The Uruguayan striker had an indifferent October that sees him drop down from 5th to 10th in our rankings. Since our last assessment, Gomez failed to find the back of the net, however, he appeared in just one game in that period.
Gomez played the full 90 minutes in the game against Seville FC, but could not score. He then missed the home defeat to Alaves and the home win over SD Eibar with an ankle injury that he picked up in training. He was estimated to be out for around 16 days, which means that he could be back in contention for the away trip to Real Betis this weekend.
The Uruguayan will be hoping to hit the ground running when he comes back, because he has fallen down the order and at the start of November, Gomez is 10th among the top Contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot.
#9 Borja Iglesias (Spain, Espanyol)
Goals Scored: 5
The Spanish Center Forward had a fabulous month that saw him rise through the ranks to be one of only two new entries in the list. Iglesias had previously scored just 2 goals in 7 games and as such, had not made in among the top contenders at the start of October. However, last month, Iglesias and Espanyol were both excellent, as the La Liga side registered 2 wins and 1 draw.
Iglesias played 78 minutes in the 3-1 win over Villareal at the start of the month but failed to score. However, he made up for it in the very next game against Huesca, scoring both goals as Espanyol won 2-0. He also scored last weekend against Valladolid, as his club secured an away draw.
Iglesias now has 5 goals from 10 appearances and has also registered 2 assists. At the start of November, he is ranked 9th among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot.
#8 Pablo Sarabia (Spain, Sevilla FC)
Goals Scored: 5
The Spanish attacking midfielder had a fantastic month of October, and only a lower goals to games ratio keeps him from ranking a little higher. Pablo Sarabia now has already scored 13 goals from 18 games in all competitions this season and in La Liga, he has scored 5 goals from 10 games.
At the start of October, Sarabia had scored just 1 goal in 7 games. He started the month by finding the net against Celta de Vigo. He then scored a goal in the very next game, a 2-4 defeat at the hands of Barcelona. Last weekend, the Spaniard scored both goals in the 2-1 win over SD Huesca. Sarabia now has 4 goals in his last 3 games in the La Liga and has been on fire this season.
Last season, Sarabia scored 9 goals in 53 games, including 6 in the La Liga from 34 games. Sarabia will most definitely have a better return at the end of this season and might just keep the big guns on their toes. As of now, the Spaniard is 8th among the top contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot at the start of November.
#7 Wissam Ben Yedder (France, Sevilla FC)
Goals Scored: 5
The Frenchman did not improve too much in the month of October, scoring just 1 goal, as Seville won 2 and lost 1. And as a result, Ben Yedder has dropped one place from 6th last month to 7th this month among the top contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot. He started the month well, scoring a goal in the 2-1 win over Celta de Vigo at home. However, Ben Yedder could not find the back of the net in the 2-4 loss at the Nou Camp against Barcelona.
The Frenchman started in the win over SD Huesca at home but failed to score again. Ben Yedder had burst into the scene with the hat-trick against Levante in September but has failed to build on that performance. On the other hand, he has scored 9 times in 16 games in all competitions so far this season, including 5 goals from 8 appearances in the La Liga and as such the Frenchman does have it within him to return back to scoring goals.
#6 Roger Marti (Spain, Levante)
Goals Scored: 6
The Spanish striker continued his good start to the season, with an eventful October that sees him rise one place to 6th this time. Marti finished September by starting from the bench against Alaves, a game where he played no part as Levante won 2-1.
At the start of October, Marti was not selected in the squad for the game against Getafe, which Levante won 1-0. He was, however, selected to start the game at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, where he scored the winning penalty in the 13th minute. Marti scored again in the very next game, this time against Leganes at home, as Levante won 2-0.
Marti has now scored 6 goals from 8 games already this season, even though he has complete the full 90 minutes in only 3 of those games. Marti is currently Levante's top scorer so far this season, scoring a bulk of their 16 goals and he is currently 6th in the race for the La Liga Golden Boot at the start of November
#5 Andre Silva (Portugal, Sevilla FC)
Goals Scored: 7
The Portuguese started the season extremely well and was the front-runner in the race at the start of October. However, the month of October was a shot of reality in the arm of Andre Silva as he could not find the back of the net in the three games he played, which sees him drop down in the list.
Silva played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 win over Celta de Vigo at home at the start of October, but could not score. He then played for 78 minutes in the 2-4 defeat at the hands of Barcelona, away at Nou Camp, still unable to find the back of the net. The Portuguese lasted 58 minutes in the 2-1 win against Huesca, and once again could not get on the scoresheet.
It is a harsh lesson for the Portuguese about the rigorous requirements of the La Liga and the consistency required to be among the best strikers here. Andre Silva is currently 5th among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot.
#4 Luis Suarez (Uruguay, Barcelona)
Goals Scored: 7
Luis Suarez has a story to tell about October. The Uruguayan Striker had 3 goals from 7 games at the end of September, which saw him start as 10th among the contenders last time. Suarez started October with an assist against Valencia but failed to score again, for the 4th game in a row. If there were any doubts about his qualities, those were about to be squashed soon.
As Barcelona hosted Seville in the next game, Suarez finally got back his scoring boots and also picked up an assist. The game was a big talking point as Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi had to leave the pitch in the 26th minute, after fracturing his forearm. It meant that Barcelona would be without their Skipper in the game against Real Madrid, which was a big blow. However, in stepped Suarez.
He started El Clasico by converting a penalty in the 30th minute. He then scored again in the 75th minute, giving Barcelona a valuable breathing space and then completed his hat-trick in the 83rd minute. It meant that Suarez had scored 4 goals in 3 games in October, which helped him climb up to 4th among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot at the start of November.
#3 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
Goals Scored: 7
The Argentinean has stayed put on the third position at the start of November in our list of contenders, but Lionel Messi has been unlucky in October, to say the least. He started October by scoring against Valencia to earn Barcelona a point. In the next game against Seville FC, Messi looked to have hit the higher gear. He set up Coutinho to score Barcelona's first as early as the 2nd minute and then scored himself in the 12th minute. However, the Argentinean picked up an injury and had to come off in the 26th minute. He had fractured his forearm, an injury that would keep him out for 3 weeks.
That meant the Argentinean missed the El Clasico, a game where Barcelona thumped Real Madrid 5-1. It also meant that Messi missed out on a chance to add to his tally.
As of now, Messi has returned to training, but the weekend's fixture against Rayo Vallecano comes too soon for him. The Argentinean has already scored 12 goals from 12 games in all season so far, and even though he is 3rd among the contenders at the start of November, no one would bet against him being at the top come to the end of the season.
#2 Iago Aspas (Spain, Celta de Vigo)
Goals Scored:8
The Spanish Center Forward powered through the ranks after a strong finish to the month of October, which sees him climb from 4th at the start of October to 2nd at the start of November. Only an inferior goals to game ratio has kept him away from the number one spot.
Aspas failed to score in the 2-1 away loss at the hands of Seville, where he played 70 minutes. He failed to score again in the next game, a disappointing 0-1 defeat at the hands of Alaves at home. He had started both games in the right wing and it was just not happening for him.
For the home game against Eibar, Aspas started in the Center Forward role. He immediately responded to his manager's faith in him, scoring as early as the 5th minute. He scored again in the 36th minute and then completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute, as Celta de Vigo won the game 4-0.
Aspas now has 8 goals from 10 games and will be looking to build on his performance in the coming matches. At the start of November, the Spaniard is second among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot.
#1 Cristhian Stuani (Uruguay, Girona)
Goals Scored: 8
The Uruguayan is having another fantastic season and started the month of October on the same note as he had finished September. He scored a brace against SD Eibar at home, however, it was not enough as Girona slumped to a 2-3 loss. Stuani started from the bench in the away game against Real Sociedad and played just 18 minutes, coming on at the 72nd minutes amid injury concerns. He could not find the back of the net in the game.
It was soon confirmed that Stuani would be out for approximately 9 days due to Adductor problems. This meant that the Uruguayan had to sit out in the game against Rayo Vallecano. The Uruguayan is still a doubt when Girona got to visit Valencia this weekend, and with the start he has had, he will be cursing his luck.
However, Cristhian Stuani still has 8 goals from 9 games so far this season and at the start of November, he is the top contender for the La Liga Golden Boot.
