By Filip Mishov
With the Champions League and Europa League‘s league section coming into the ultimate spherical, Europe’s in-form strikers would be the primary protagonists for his or her golf equipment within the race to succeed in the knockout stage, and FotMob analyses 5 prolific forwards who’ve displayed spectacular consistency and effectivity in 2024/25.
Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting CP)
With no shadow of a doubt, the Swedish centre-forward is placing in one of the vital prolific seasons by a striker lately, and at any time when somebody questions part of the 26-year-old’s wealthy attacking repertoire, Gyökeres solutions the doubters on the pitch very quickly. Proper foot or left foot, his outstanding shot map speaks volumes for an entire ahead who has scored 34 targets (together with six in his debut marketing campaign within the Champions League) and recorded six assists in simply 33 appearances throughout all competitions this season.
And Gyökeres has nonetheless discovered a strategy to impress additional in latest weeks. Sporting’s no. 9 got here off the bench in two of the previous three matches and even with solely 44 minutes mixed, Gyökeres managed to make an impression and rating towards each Rio Ave and RB Leipzig, respectively. With the Lisbon-based membership sitting in twenty third place within the Champions League forward of the group stage’s last spherical, Gyökeres’ efficiency from the beginning or off the bench will likely be essential towards Bologna as to whether Sporting CP will safe a spot within the spherical of 16 playoff.
Santiago Giménez (Feyenoord)
With a profitable brace previous Manuel Neuer within the penultimate spherical of the group section and 4 targets and one help famous in 4 matches within the Champions League general, Santiago Giménez has totally introduced himself on Europe’s largest stage this season.
The Mexican might have scored a career-best 26 targets throughout all competitions final marketing campaign, however this feels just like the season when Feyenoord’s no. 29 actually rose to prominence with eye-catching performances towards Manchester Metropolis, Sparta Prague and Bayern München, respectively, and Europe’s prime golf equipment took be aware of his goalscoring consistency.
Moreover, the 23-year-old is fuelling the Rotterdam-based membership’s bid to shut the hole on the main trio – PSV, Ajax, and Utrecht within the Eredivisie with seven targets and one help in 11 league matches. Concurrently, with Feyenoord sitting in eleventh place and aiming to guide a direct ticket to the Champions League’s spherical of 16, Giménez could have an enormous say in whether or not they are going to keep away from the lottery of the knockout section playoffs.
Jonathan David (Lille)
The Canadian would be the least acquainted title on the record, however Jonathan David is the joint-third prime scorer within the Champions League this season, with a few targets scored within the qualifying playoff spherical, and 5 targets scored within the league section, with solely Raphinha (8) and Robert Lewandowski (9) eclipsing his file. The 25-year-old is Lille’s joint-second greatest rated participant with a 7.31 common score from FotMob this season.
The 2-footed striker was on the coronary heart of Lille’s record-breaking 21-match unbeaten run throughout all competitions earlier this season, a run which stretched from mid-September proper up till final week when Liverpool ended beat them at Anfield. David nonetheless managed to search out the again of the online although!
With David’s contract expiring on the finish of this season, the Canadian is taking part in for his future and appears to be on a mission to show his worth. It’s truthful to say that he has achieved that, with 18 targets scored in all competitions, together with targets towards Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Actual Madrid amongst others. Curiously sufficient, Lille will welcome Feyenoord within the last spherical of the Champions League’s group section with each at the moment degree on factors and with a doable place within the prime eight on the road, will probably be attention-grabbing to see who will come on prime: Santiago Giménez or Jonathan David.
Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt)
After spending a few years within the highlight and enduring a tough 18 months within the France capital with Paris Saint-Germain, Hugo Ekitike is lastly discovering his groove again in Germany because the 22-year-old is up and firing for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.
With 5 targets scored in his final 4 matches and 14 targets scored in complete throughout all competitions, Ekitike’s kind is peaking simply on the proper time. Particularly when Frankfurt may have him to step up following the departure of regular strike associate Omar Marmoush to Manchester Metropolis.
Ekitike is just not a conventional centre-forward, however fairly one who likes to run the channels and possesses a technical skill to even play deeper, which makes him an thrilling expertise. Regardless that Eintracht Frankfurt’s place within the Europa League’s prime 8 is all however secured, the group stage’s last spherical presents a possibility for Ekitike to proceed his goalscoring streak, towards Roma on the Stadio Olimpico.
Benjamin Šeško (RB Leipzig)
The one goalscorer on the record whose present membership are positively ending their journey in European competitors this season, is Leipzig’s Benjamin Šeško.
Leipzig have endured an abysmal marketing campaign within the Champions League by securing just one win from seven matches forward of their last match towards Sturm Graz, however when talking about probably the most in-form strikers in Europe, one merely can’t go away ‘Large Ben’ out. Notably as a result of his transfer to a different European big has all however been confirmed.
Accountable for half of Die Roten Bullen’s eight targets within the Champions League and scoring in all however one match in 2025, to this point, the Slovenian’s kind might need been the membership’s solely hope for salvaging the season, with 14 targets and three assists recorded throughout all competitions. Now, we’ll see whether or not Šeško can switch that conversion price to a brand new league and a brand new problem.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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