Can Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah win first European Golden Shoe? How he can overtake Gyokeres

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is within touching distance of joining an exclusive club of Premier League stars who have claimed the prestigious European Golden Shoe award for the top scorer across the European leagues.

Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Luis Suarez (Liverpool) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City) are the only four Premier League players to have won the award this century. That’s the kind of exalted company Salah is close to joining.

However, despite leading the race for most of the season Salah has now fallen behind Sporting Lisbon striker – and reported Arsenal transfer target – Viktor Gyokeres. Can he move back ahead of the Sweden international in the run-in?

We’ve broken down everything you need to know in the final stretch of the European Golden Shoe race.

Can Salah catch Viktor Gyokeres?

Gyokeres has scored an outrageous total of 38 goals in the Portuguese Primeira Liga this season.

Salah is 10 goals behind that tally. Needless to say, he won’t be making up that gap in the last three games of the Premier League season.

Fortunately for Liverpool’s Egyptian King, the European Sports Media organisation use a slightly convoluted weighting system for the rankings.

Goals scored in the Portuguese top flight don’t count the same as goals scored in Europe’s top five leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

You have to go back to Sporting Lisbon’s Mario Jardel way back in 2002-03 to find the last player from outside the historic ‘major’ leagues that won the European Golden Shoe.

Since then it’s been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Robert Lewandowski, Haaland and Harry Kane among the winners in recent years.

Goals scored in leagues ranked between 6th and 22nd in Europe count at a factor of 1.5 – meaning that Gyokeres’ 38 league goals count for 57 ‘points’ in the rankings.

Goals scored in the major leagues, including the Premier League, count at a factor of 2.0 – with Salah’s 28 league goals so far accounting for 56 points.

That means that Salah will move back ahead of Gyokeres if he just scores one more league goal than the Swede in these final weeks.

The recently crowned FWA Footballer Of The Year has time on his side to make up the gap, too. He has three games remaining – Arsenal at home, Brighton away and Crystal Palace at home.

Gyokeres only has one league game left for Sporting – next weekend at home to Vitoria SC. On Saturday they drew with city rivals Benfica, which keeps them in the driving seat going into the final weekend.

Sporting already boasts head-to-head advantage, so three points will guarantee that they retain the title. Goal difference will be irrelevant but you imagine Gyokeres will nevertheless be motivated to fill his boots in what will likely be his last game in the Portuguese top flight.

READ: The last 10 European Golden Shoe winners & where they ranked in the Ballon d’Or

Can anyone overtake Salah?

Should Salah catch Gyokeres, the European Golden Shoe won’t necessarily be secure. But he would be in a very strong position.

Barcelona striker Lewandowski remains in the race and is eyeing up the award for a third time, which would see him move outright third behind Messi and Ronaldo in the all-time list of winners. He’s third overall, three goals behind Salah, but has only recently returned from a hamstring injury.

After hosting Real Madrid, Barcelona have a tricky run-in with city rivals Espanyol, Villarreal and Athletic Club to come.

Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui is four goals behind Salah but has gone off the boil a little of late, with just two goals in his last six Serie A outings. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side also have three games to go.

Current holder Harry Kane has recently celebrated the first trophy of his career with the Bundesliga title and would love to end the season on a high, but he doesn’t have time on his side. He’ll need to score five goals in Bayern’s last match away to Hoffenheim next weekend to overhaul Salah.

Kylian Mbappe (22 goals), Ousmane Dembele (21 goals), Erling Haaland (21 goals) and Alexander Isak (20 goals) are among those further back who would have to do something extraordinary if they’re to shoot up to the top of the charts in the final weeks.

READ NEXT: 9 players we can’t believe never won a European Golden Shoe: Shearer, Mbappe…

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every winner of the European Golden Shoe since 2000?