Is Luis Suarez the best striker in the world? Maybe even the best player? If scoring efficiency is the most important determining factor than yes he is, having the best goals-per-minute ratio in league matches among players from the top 5 leagues in Europe.
Yes, Suarez, who has only played 10 matches this season, has already scored 14 league goals, in a season thought might be about him sulking for not having his way and finding a way out of Liverpool. Suarez has two hat tricks or better this season – In the 4-1 win over West Brom (3 goals) and recently, against the club he loves to score against more than anything, Norwich, finishing the 4-1 win with four goals.
Suarez is the only player in Europe with a goal in every less than 70 minutes, while there are only 4: Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero being the others, who need less than 90 minutes between each goal they score.
- Luis Suarez (Liverpool) – 10 (matches) 14 (goals) 897 (total minutes) 64.1 (minutes per goal)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 14 17 1223 72
- Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid) – 15 15 1234 82.6
- Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – 14 12 1067 89.7
Lionel Messi? He’s 6th overall and 4th in the Spanish La Liga (behind Gareth Bale as well), scoring 11 goals in 8 matches and averaging one each 95.6 minutes. In France, it’s surprising to see that the most efficient scorers isn’t Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the top scorer in Ligue 1, but Emmanuel Rivière of Monaco, with 8 goals in 13 appearances, scoring one every 96 minutes. Ibrahimovic comes second with his 13 goals in 16 matches, scoring one every 104 minutes, just like his teammate Edinson Cavani.
In Germany, the most efficient scorer is Sejad Salihovic of Hoffenheim, scoring 6 goals in 11 matches and one coming every 100 minutes. The league’s top scorer is Robert Lewandowski of Dortmund with 11 goals in 15 matches, scoring one every 117 minutes.