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How the La Liga Golden Boot race is shaping up

Ahead of La Liga's restart, Sports Mole looks at the Golden Boot standings as history-chasing Lionel Messi once again leads the way.

La Liga football will return this evening when Sevilla host local rivals Real Betis, more than three months after the last piece of Spanish top-flight action.

Spain was hit worse than most by the deadly coronavirus pandemic, but elements of life are beginning to return to normal and the resumption of La Liga will come as welcome news to football fans up and down the country.

A number of issues must still be determined - including the title race, top-four battle and relegation scrap - as the division heads in to a packed period of 110 games in just 39 days.

On an individual level there are accolades to determine too, most notably the Golden Boot race for the league's top scorer.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how the battle currently stands ahead of play restarting.



Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their fifth goal on January 30, 2020© Reuters

It is no surprise to see Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi at the top of the standings once again, despite missing a significant chunk of the campaign through injury.

The Argentine, who is now 127 goals clear of Cristiano Ronaldo as La Liga's leading scorer of all time, has added 19 to his tally from just 22 top-flight outings this term.

At the risk of doubting the goalscoring capabilities of arguably the greatest player ever, Messi's overall tally is likely to be the lowest to win the award for over a decade, but history still beckons for the Barca number 10.

Messi is currently five goals clear of his closest competitor - Real Madrid's Karim Benzema - and so looks destined for a fourth straight La Liga Golden Boot, which is something only Hugo Sanchez and Alfredo Di Stefano have managed before.

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates scoring their fourth goal on January 29, 2020© Reuters

Even more notable is the fact that this would be the seventh time he has ended a campaign as the division's top scorer, surpassing Telmo Zarra to move out on his own as the player with the most Spanish top flight Golden Boots.

There is a slight question mark hanging over his fitness for Barcelona's first game back against Mallorca, but the champions have moved to quell any concerns and it is unlikely that missing one or even two games would open the door enough for Benzema to leapfrog him in the standings.

Behind the Real Madrid forward are three players all on 11 goals apiece - Luis Suarez, who is now fit again after injury, Lucas Perez and Gerard Moreno.

Messi, predictably, has the best minutes-per-goal ratio of anyone to have netted two or more times in the division this season, scoring on average once every 99 minutes.

Interestingly it is 33-year-old Getafe striker Angel Rodriguez who is next in that particular list, with many of his 24 appearances coming off the bench and his 10 goals coming at an average of one every 109 minutes.

> Click here to listen to our podcast looking ahead to the return of La Liga

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Barcelona's Lionel Messi in action with Real Madrid's Toni Kroos in La Liga at Camp Nou on December 18, 2019
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Todays Game Header Right
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atletico MadridAtletico1613213162541
2Real Madrid18114330151537
3Barcelona18104437172034
4Villarreal188822617932
5Real Sociedad1986529161330
6Sevilla179352115630
7Granada188372129-827
8Celta Vigo186572228-623
9CadizCadiz186571522-723
10Real Betis187292231-923
11Levante175662324-121
12Athletic Bilbao186392122-121
13Getafe175571518-320
14Valencia184772425-119
15EibarEibar184771518-319
16AlavesAlaves184681623-718
17Real Valladolid184681625-918
18ElcheElche163761421-716
19Osasuna183691527-1215
20Huesca181981428-1412

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