Top scorers in 2023: Haaland lead suddenly cut as in-form Rashford drops down to third

Erling Haaland had an imposing lead of five goals at one point but Karim Benzema can’t stop scoring hat-tricks in April and Marcus Rashford is firing.

Kylian Mbappe led the 2022 top goalscorers list by six goals from the old man at Barcelona. But he could not win France the World Cup, the daft fraud.

The criteria: All club goals in all competitions for clubs in Europe’s top five leagues.

10) Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan (13 goals)
Three goals in 50 substitute minutes against Empoli and Lazio have renewed Inter’s charge to qualify for the Champions League, provided the shock semi-finalists don’t win the whole thing this season.

9) Jonathan David – Lille (14 goals)
Matching Mbappe almost stride for stride in the Ligue Un top scorers list is the Canadian striker whose price tag is now north of £50m as Milan and Arsenal show interest.

8) Alexandre Lacazette – Lyon (14 goals)
There was a hat-trick against Chambery in the cup to boost the numbers but this is still a 20-goal Ligue 1 season for the 31-year-old.

7) Youssef En-Nesyri – Sevilla (15 goals)
David de Gea and Harry Maguire will be relieved not to see the 25-year-old again this season. En-Nesyri is having a fine year on the back of goals against Canada and Portugal en route to a World Cup semi-final.

6) Thijs Dallinga – Toulouse (15 goals)
Us neither. He’s Dutch, he cost them about £2m in the summer and has scored nine Ligue Un goals in 2023. Some stat-padding against lower-league French sides in the cup was vindicated with two goals in a dismantling of Nantes in the final.

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5) Kylian Mbappe – PSG (15 goals)
No goals in defeats to Bayern Munich, Rennes, Lyon or Nice has kept him well off the pace in 2023, though Lens, Angers and Lorient put him back on track.

4) Victor Osimhen – Napoli (16 goals)
Two more goals against Torino took the Nigerian striker to 15 goals from 15 games in 2023. It’s little wonder that he is so keenly sought by every big club in Europe. Nor that Napoli twice lost to Milan in his injury-enforced absence. He returned with a goal in the Champions League but Napoli were ousted.

3) Marcus Rashford – Man Utd (18 goals)
The Tories’ least favourite football personality not named Gary Lineker is thriving. The youngest English or Man Utd player to score 25 goals in European competition is not half bad.

2) Karim Benzema – Real Madrid (20 goals)
A hat-trick of hat-tricks in April against Real Valladolid, Barcelona and Almeria for a player who only continues to improve at 35. Benzema also faces another English opponent in the Champions League so it shouldn’t be too much longer before he catches…

1) Erling Haaland – Manchester City (23 goals)
A 50-goal debut campaign. This is a ridiculous season from Haaland.

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