Surprise La Liga forward outscores Vinicius, Robert Lewandowski and Jude Bellingham in 2024 without penalties

While Artem Dovbyk may have won the Pichichi award last season, he only narrowly pipped Alexander Sorloth as top goalscorer. Both were courted by Atletico Madrid in the summer, but it was Sorloth that ended up making the move.

Sorloth has not managed to nail a starting spot down since arriving at Atletico, but is proving his value, as demonstrated on Saturday. According to Marca, over the calendar year in La Liga, Sorloth is the top scorer in Spain without taking into account penalties.

Barça face a key summer decision: Should they sign a top-tier striker? With Lewandowski nearing 37, the club debates bringing in a world-class ‘9’. Names like Gyökeres, Darwin Núñez, and Osimhen are on the radar. @sport

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 24, 2024

In 2024, Sorloth has scored 31 times, ahead of Robert Lewandowski (29), Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior (20) – Osasuna’s Ante Budimir managed 20 strikes too. Sorloth cost €32m from Villarreal this summer, and has started just 9 times in La Liga and the Champions League.

Diego Simeone’s reaction at full-time last night… ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/GvbeXGF5NZ

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) December 22, 2024

Despite his lack of starts, Sorloth is still sixth in the Pichichi race this season, with 8 goals to his name. Lewandowski leads the way with 16, followed by Raphinha (11), Ante Budimir (10) and Kylian Mbappe (10).