It was business as usual for European football's top-gun trio at the weekend with Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe helping fire their respective sides to another victory.
The three striking superstars have been in prolific form for Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid since the start of the season and sit top of the scoring charts in England, Germany and Spain.
That should come as no surprise to anyone as those three players have each won the European Golden Boot as the continent's top scorer over the last three seasons.
The 2022-23 winner Haaland has been virtually unplayable, notching 11 times in eight games and propelling Pep Guardiola's City to second in the Premier League.
There are only three examples of a player reaching double figures in the Premier League by their eighth match of the campaign – and it is the Norwegian goal machine himself in each of the previous three seasons.
Such has been Haaland's dominance that the club's next top scorers are Phil Foden, Matheus Nunes, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki with one apiece.
It left Guardiola suggesting after Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton – with Haaland scoring both goals – that other players need to “step up” to the scoring plate.
“Sergio [Aguero] scored a lot of goals with his head but the presence from Erling, his stature is huge,” said the Spanish coach, whose side travel to Villarreal in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday.
“I am really pleased, not just for the incredible threat to the opponent but [that] we found him much more. That is really important … Erling lives for it. Our delivery of passes has been better and Erling is our key man right now.”
Everton manager David Moyes added ruefully: “In the main, I thought we did a really good job on him but then he can do nothing for 60 minutes and you’re going to talk about the two or three minutes when he does. His ability to score, he’s got something which others haven’t.”
On the same day Haaland was banging in his 138th goal in 156 games for City, the 2023-24 European Golden Boot winner Kane was scoring the opening goal of Bayern's 2-1 Der Klassiker win over Borussia Dortmund.
It was the 400th club career goal for the 32-year-old and his 104th in 107 matches for the reigning Bundesliga champions who have won all 11 of their games across competitions this season.
Kane's form has again been relentless having scored 12 goals in seven games, seven more than the next best in the Bundesliga – his teammate Luis Diaz – helping Bayern lead the standings by five points.
He has now scored in every match he has featured in this season bar one – Bayern's 3-2 victory over Augsburg in August when Kane had to make do with a mere two assists.
“Harry Kane can of course still improve, even though he has been more than brilliant so far for us,” said Bayern manager Vincent Kompany after beating Dortmund at the Allianz Arena. They take on Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, sitting top of the group table after two games.
“I think [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo have set the bar so high that you feel like scoring in the manner Kane is scoring right now should be normal, but what he is doing is really outstanding," added Kompany.
England manager Thomas Tuchel, who also coached Kane in his first season at Bayern, described the Three Lions all-time record scorer (76 goals from 110 caps) as “undoubtedly the best striker of his generation” during the recent international break.
“He has reached a new level and is now scoring two goals per game,” said the German coach. “He’s in full flow; you can feel the confidence - he carries Bayern Munich and the Three Lions with ease on his shoulders. He’s in top form.”
Over in La Liga, it is last season's European Golden Boot winner Mbappe who is leading the charge for Real Madrid, with his goal on Sunday earning Los Blancos a 1-0 win over nine-man Getafe and moving them back to the top of the table, above reigning champions Barcelona.
It was Mbappe's 10th goal in nine matches and the 26-year-old's 59th in 70 appearances for Real, who face Serie A side Juventus in the Spanish capital on Wednesday.
“He’s decisive in practically every game. He’s clinical in front of goal,” said manager Xabi Alonso. “We need his quality to flourish. Not just for the goals, but for everything, for his influence … He can have a spectacular season.”
Getafe coach Jose Bordalas hailed Mbappe as “one of the best in the world” before Sunday's game.
“He is in a moment of frankly good shape and we are watching game after game that it is very difficult to neutralise a player who has that talent, that speed and that instinct,” Bordalas added.
With these three in this sort of scoring touch, the race to be Europe's Golden Boot winner this season looks set to be an enthralling one.
