The 2023/24 European football season was pure, high-octane entertainment. While the Premier League usually steals all the headlines, this year we saw some absolutely ridiculous goalscoring numbers coming out of Germany, Spain, and Italy too.
It wasn't just the usual suspects dominating the charts. Sure, the Norwegian cyborg and the French speedster did their thing, but we also saw some massive breakout campaigns from guys who were completely under the radar just twelve months ago.
If you love pure strikers, this was the season for you. Let’s take a look at the absolute most lethal finishers across Europe’s top five leagues this year.
Europe's Deadliest Finishers!
- 1st: Harry Kane - 36 goals
- 2nd: Serhou Guirassy - 28 goals
- Tied 3rd: Kylian Mbappé - 27 goals
- Tied 3rd: Erling Haaland - 27 goals
- Tied 5th: Loïs Openda - 24 goals
- Tied 5th: Artem Dovbyk - 24 goals
- Tied 5th: Lautaro Martínez - 24 goals
- 8th: Alexander Sørloth - 23 goals
- 9th: Cole Palmer - 22 goals
- 10th: Alexander Isak - 21 goals
10th: Alexander Isak - 21 goals
When Newcastle dropped a massive bag of cash for Alexander Isak, a lot of people were skeptical. Well, no one is doubting him now.
The guy literally looks like Thierry Henry when he has the ball at his feet. He’s incredibly tall but moves with the agility of a winger. 21 goals in the Premier League is no joke, especially considering he had to deal with a few annoying injuries. If he stays fully fit next season, the Golden Boot race is going to get very interesting.
9th: Cole Palmer - 22 goals
"Cold" Palmer. Honestly, the story of the season in England. Chelsea was a complete mess, but this 21-year-old kid strapped the entire billion-pound squad to his back and carried them into Europe.
Pep Guardiola let him leave City, and Palmer responded by scoring 22 goals and basically becoming the most clutch player in the league. Yes, a lot of them were penalties, but his composure is genuinely terrifying for someone so young.
8th: Alexander Sørloth - 23 goals
The big Norwegian who isn't Haaland. Sørloth had the season of his absolute life at Villarreal.
He famously destroyed Real Madrid by scoring four goals against them in a single match. He is an absolute nightmare in the air and deceptively quick for his size. His 23 goals earned him a massive move to Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, which feels like a match made in heaven for a physical target man.
Tied 5th: Lautaro Martínez - 24 goals
El Toro! Inter Milan completely dominated Serie A this year, and Lautaro was the undisputed king of Italy.
Ever since taking over the captaincy, he has elevated his game to a new level. He is so aggressive, constantly pressing defenders and scoring goals from impossible angles. 24 goals in Italy’s notoriously tight defensive league is a massive statement.
Tied 5th: Artem Dovbyk - 24 goals
The ultimate underdog story. Girona was supposed to be fighting relegation; instead, they qualified for the Champions League, largely thanks to this Ukrainian powerhouse.
Dovbyk won the Pichichi (La Liga top scorer) with 24 goals, beating out Lewandowski and Bellingham. He’s a classic, no-nonsense number 9 who just knows exactly where to be in the box. His reward? A big-money move to Roma.
Tied 5th: Loïs Openda - 24 goals
RB Leipzig has a brilliant scouting department, and Openda is their latest masterpiece.
He arrived from France and immediately started terrorizing the Bundesliga. 24 goals in his debut season in Germany is outrageous. He is lightning fast and has that annoying habit (for defenders, anyway) of constantly playing on the shoulder of the last man. Trust me, every elite club in Europe is watching him right now.
Tied 3rd: Erling Haaland - 27 goals
Imagine scoring 27 Premier League goals, winning the Golden Boot, and having pundits say you had a "down year." That is the insane standard Erling Haaland has set for himself.
He missed nearly two months with a foot injury and still completely blew away the competition in England. He doesn't care about buildup play; he just wants to smash the ball into the net as violently as possible.
Tied 3rd: Kylian Mbappé - 27 goals
The final chapter of Mbappé in Paris. Despite constantly rotating in and out of the squad due to the drama surrounding his impending move to Real Madrid, he still casually dropped 27 goals in Ligue 1.
He was essentially playing the season in second gear and still ended up as the top scorer in France by a country mile. Now that he is officially a Galactico, the rest of Europe should be terrified.
2nd: Serhou Guirassy - 28 goals
If you had Serhou Guirassy scoring 28 goals in 28 games on your bingo card, you are lying.
Stuttgart went from barely surviving relegation last year to finishing above Bayern Munich, completely fueled by Guirassy’s ridiculous goal-per-game record. Every shot he took seemed to find the corner. It was one of the most unexpected and brilliant individual seasons in recent history, earning him a massive move to Dortmund.
1st: Harry Kane - 36 goals
When Harry Kane left Spurs, we knew he was going to score goals. But 36 league goals in your debut season? That is just silly.
He basically went to Germany and turned the Bundesliga into his personal playground. He won the European Golden Shoe by a massive margin. The irony that Bayern Munich finally failed to win the league in his first year there is hilarious, but on an individual level, Kane proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the best traditional number 9 on the planet.
Will 2024/25 Be Even Wilder?
With Mbappé in Spain, Kane fully settled in Germany, and Haaland looking for revenge in the Champions League, the race for the Golden Shoe next year is going to be an absolute bloodbath. Plus, with breakout stars like Openda and Palmer hungry for more, the old guard isn't going to have it easy.
