The Golden Boot has been close this season, with plenty of action after half a season of play in the MLS. This year has proved to be a close race with a tie for first place, followed by some of the most talented players in the league who can catch up at any moment.
There are three tiers in this Golden Boot race so far: the front-runners, the stars that could catch up, and goal scorers I expect to drop out of contention.
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Our Contenders for MLS Gold Golden Boot
The Front-Runners
Lionel Messi went on a tremendous run of brilliant form when he returned from the Club World Cup. Many assumed that the veteran would run out of gas later in the season due to all the competitions the Inter Miami plays in, but that hasn’t been the case.
Messi went on a streak of multi-goal performances that didn’t just put Miami in the Supporters Shield race but inserted Messi as the frontrunner for the Golden Boot with 18 goals and nine assists this season.
He is not alone at the top of the table in the Golden Boot race. Sam Surridge of Nashville SC has had a stellar season as he finds himself deadlocked with Messi at 18 goals and just four assists.
The English National, who was formerly in the Premier League, has proved to be a top scorer in the MLS. He has been one of the main contributors to Nashville’s surprise run to the top of the East.
Surridge being at the top is a light surprise when looking at his statistics over the past few seasons. He never surpassed more than eight goals in England, not to mention the league he was competing in. In his first full season in Nashville, he scored 12 goals, though he became a trusted scorer. His rise as a top finisher in the league arrived as a surprise to MLS fans across the league. He is certainly someone to monitor for those looking for expert soccer betting tips for upcoming matches.
Stars Disguised as a Dark Horse
The first star that pops off this list is the man who sits in third stats-wise and is one of the favorites to win the MLS MVP award this season.
Evander for FC Cincinnati has had a standout season so far as one of the best midfielders in the game. Cincinnati set a record-breaking (at the time) deal to secure the midfielder and add a proven MLS star to their ranks.
Evander’s 15 goals will keep him trailing for the leaders for now, while his eight assists so far keep him right in the mix.
Other good players in this race have a similar goal output as Evander. His stellar performance as one of the only midfielders in contention for the Golden Boot puts him at the top of the list as a dark horse in this race.
A player that I find to be shockingly low in goal output is LAFC star winger Denis Bouanga. The skilled finisher on the wing in LA is one of the most skilled players on the wide attack that we have seen this year in the MLS.
His 14 goals and seven assists keep him back at seven in the Golden Boot race. The good news is that he has 11 games still to play in MLS play that can help him improve his stats as we get closer and closer towards the end of the season.
As LAFC will be making a final push for playoff seeding, they will need Bouanga to come up big for them. A multi-goal performance would put Bouanga back into the conversation with the top two scorers.
The last star on this list is Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting for New York Red Bulls with 15 goals and two assists. His finishing has put him at the table in his first season in the MLS after spending the last four seasons with Bayern Munich.
Choupo-Moting is in his age 34 season after spending a successful career with multiple clubs across Germany, England, and France for a few seasons.
Choupo-Moting may not have many seasons left as he approaches retirement in his mid-30s. He may not win the Golden Boot, but seeing an aging star put up numbers on the stat sheet has been entertaining in this case for the aging forward.
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Falling out of the race
Tai Baribo, who had the lead for the Golden Boot in the first half of the season. His scorching hot start with four multi-goal games, including a hat trick, put Baribo in the discussion as the top finisher in the league.
His 15 goals and three assists keep him up at the top of the list for now. Two goals in the last ten games for Baribo won’t be enough to keep him at the top of the table, as proven stars below him will most likely catch up or surpass him in the coming days.
Martin Ojeda of Orlando City has been excellent this season, 14 goals and 13 assists is what you want to see out of your midfielder when contending for the top of the Eastern Conference.
Ojeda has been fun to watch and impresses anytime he has the ball at his feet in the final third. Ojeda is falling out of the race due to the fact that he services his squad with his passing as much as his goal scoring.
His team needs him to earn assists to win games, unlike many other finishers at the top of the standings.
Hugo Cuypers of the Chicago Fire FC has been one of the biggest reasons why the Fire have been a strong team compared to years past.
His 14 goals and two assists have been a difference maker this season; unfortunately, his team isn’t good enough to continue setting him up in the final third to keep up with other goal scorers who are ahead of him.
Peter Musa of FC Dallas and Dejan Joveljic of Sporting Kansas City are both lone bright spots to their poor-performing teams this season.
Both have earned 13 goals with five and two assists, respectively, this season as they look to increase their value as their teams are both at the bottom of the league. They are barely in the Golden Boot conversation, as I expect them to remain on the outside of the race in the last two months of the season.
Main Photo Credit IMAGO / NurPhoto