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Hello and welcome back to our assessment of the race to the Serie A Golden Boot at the start of February. It is surprising to see that both of last year's winners, Mauro Icardi and Ciro Immobile, are still missing from the top 5. There has been no new entry into the list in the last month, however, there has been a shift in the rankings since our last assessment.
Also Read: Top Contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot - January 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to make the headlines, as he has taken to the Serie A as a fish to water. The Portuguese has added a certain charm to the league ever since his arrival in the summer and has been involved in the Golden Boot race as of late.
Cristiano Ronaldo is still a part of this list, but is he still reigning supreme? Read on to find out the top contenders for the "Capocannoniere" at the start of February 2019.
All Stats are courtesy of Transfermarkt
#5 Arkadiusz Milik (Poland, Napoli)
Goals Scored - 12
The Polish Striker has dropped down the list because he had a rather average January compared to some of the players on this list.
When the Serie A resumed after the winter break, Napoli welcomed Lazio for an entertaining encounter. After Callejon had given the home team the lead, Milik doubled the score. His goal ultimately proved to be the match-winner, as Lazio rallied late, got a goal back through Immobile, but could not reduce the deficit.
Milik was in the starting XI for the next game against Milan as well, however, he could not find the back of the net and the game ended in a goalless draw. The Polish striker was back among the goals in last weekend against Sampdoria, as his team won 3-0.
Napoli are currently second in the Serie A, however, they are 9 points behind league leaders Juventus and any chance of catching them depends on the performance of their in-form striker in the coming months.
The Poland International has 12 goals from 19 games and is averaging a goal every 104 minutes played. He has registered 50 shots in the Serie A, 28 of which have been on target. He is currently on a goals-per-game ratio of 0.63. At the start of February, Milik is 5th in the race to the Serie A Golden Boot and is 5 goals behind the man at the top.
#4 Krzysztof Piatek (Poland, AC Milan)
Goals Scored - 14
The Polish striker had generated a lot of interest in the first half of the season with his goal scoring antics. He was touted to be the next big thing in the Serie A and was expected to attract the attention of the European powerhouses soon. However, he had an indifferent start to life after the winter break and as such, has dropped two places to 4th position at the start of February. Yet, his antics in the first half of the season was enough to secure him a deal to AC Milan in the winter transfer window
He was suspended for the first game in the new year, a 0-2 defeat at home at the hands of AC Milan. He started from the bench in the following game - his first in the colours of AC Milan - against Napoli and came off for the last 18 minutes, but could not score a goal as the match ended 0-0.
However, in his first start for his new team last weekend, he gave them an early lead against Roma. Even though the game ended in a 1-1 draw, it was an important reminder of the qualities of the Polish Striker.
Piatek is averaging a goal every 127 minutes this season and has a goals-per-game average of 0.67. With 14 goals from 21 games, he is 4th among the top contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot.
#3 Duvan Zapata (Colombia, Atalanta BC)
Goals Scored - 15
If the Colombian was impressive in December, he has taken his game to the next level with an enchanting display of goalscoring prowess after the winter break. Zapata has scored 5 goals in January and kept the pressure on the men ahead of him.
Zapata started the new year with an astonishing 4 goal masterclass against Frosinone, a game that Atalanta BC won 5-0. He continued his fine run in the next game as well, scoring an important goal as Atalanta secured a hard-fought 3-3 draw against AS Roma at home. On Monday night, he started in the 1-0 away win over Cagliari, but could not score.
The Colombian is averaging 0.68 goals per game so far and has scored a goal every 106 minutes played. He has registered 49 shots, 26 of which have been on target. With 15 goals from 22 games, Zapata is currently third in the race to the Serie A Golden Boot
#2 Fabio Quagliarella (Italy, UC Sampdoria)
Goals Scored - 16
The Veteran Striker has shown no signs of slowing down right now. Quagliarella started the new year on the same note as he ended the last and after a brilliant January, has made the race to the Serie A Golden Boot pretty interesting at the start of February.
The Italian marked the return of the Serie A after the winter break with a brace against Fiorentina, in a game that ended 3-3. In the following game, he scored twice again, this time against Udinese, in a comfortable 4-0 win for Sampdoria. He ended the month with 4 goals from 2 games. However, his goalscoring run took a brief respite last weekend against Napoli, when the Italian failed to score for the first time in the last 12 appearances and his team lost the game 0-3
Quagliarella is averaging a goal every 113 minutes and is scoring 0.76 goals per game in an average. He has recorded 60 shot so far, 32 of which have been on target. With 16 goals from 21 games, Fabio Quagliarella is second among the top Contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot at the start of February.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Juventus)
Goals Scored - 17
The Portuguese had taken a strangle hold of the race at the end of the year and was expected to push on after the winter break. He had all the ingredients to build on his impressive start and Cristiano Ronaldo has done just that
Ronaldo started the new year with a 3-0 win over Chievo Verona at home, a game where he failed to score a goal, missing a penalty. However, he redeemed himself in the following game against Lazio, scoring an 88th-minute winner from the spot.
Yet the stage was set for him to shine last weekend at home against Parma, where he scored twice and set up another to cap a fine individual performance, even though his team drew the game.
The Portuguese is averaging a goal every 112 minutes played so far this season and has registered 0.77 goals per game. He has recorded a league-high 107 shots so far, with 58 of those on target. With 17 goals from 22 games, Ronaldo is once again the top contender for the Serie A Golden Boot at the start of February.
Join us again next month as we update the rankings and assess the latest contenders for the Serie A Golden Boot
