Bundesliga top scorer 2018/19: The challengers to Robert Lewandowski's crown

Bundesliga top scorer 2018/19: The challengers to Robert Lewandowski's crown

- in Bundesliga

Robert Lewandowski claimed his third top scorer’s prize with 29 goals last season – but who heads the 2018/19 Bundesliga scoring charts after Matchday 13? bundesliga.com has the lowdown on the runners and riders…

Appearances: 8 (2 starts)
Goals: 10
Goals per game: 1.25

The summer arrival from Barcelona has breezed into the Bundesliga and hit opponents with a whirlwind. Just ask Matchday 7 opponents Augsburg: they were leading 1-0 until Alcacer came off the bench, completing a second-half hat-trick with a 96th-minute matchwinner in a 4-3 Dortmund win for the ages. He continued his epic run with a goal against VfB Stuttgart – his first Bundesliga start – and scored the winner, again as a substitute in Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich. Dortmund rewarded him by transforming his loan into a permanent move, and he paid them back with goal-scoring cameos against Mainz and Freiburg to level the single-season Bundesliga record for substitute strikes (nine), and take his tally to double figures. He’s only player 285 minutes!

Watch: Paco Alcacer’s game dissected

Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Appearances: 11 (8 starts)
Goals: 10
Goals per game: 0.91

After a slow start to the season, Jovic has been in excellent form of late, scoring in three consecutive games for the first time in his career after finding the net against Hannover and Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga and Lazio in the UEFA Europa League. His display against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 8 had something of a coming-of-age feel about it though, with the Serbia international unstoppable in a 7-1 win on home turf, scoring five before being substituted off to a standing ovation. He netted a double against Schalke on Matchday 11, as well as a consolation in the surprise Matchday 13 defeat to Wolfsburg.

Luka Jovic turned on the style with Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 8, scoring five past Fortuna Düsseldorf in a 7-1 win. © gettyimages / Alex Grimm

Appearances: 13 (11 starts)
Goals: 9
Goals per game: 0.69

The powerful French striker was on target in Frankfurt’s first three Bundesliga outings this season against Freiburg, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund, but subsequently went on a four-game goal drought in the league. That came to an end on Matchday 8 when he struck a brace and provided two assists for Luka Jovic in a relentless 7-1 triumph at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf. He came to the Eagles’ rescue late in the day on Matchday 9, sliding in to tap in the equaliser in a 1-1 draw in Nuremberg. He then opened the scoring for his side at VfB Stuttgart before rounding things out against Schalke in consecutive 3-0 wins and scoring for a seventh straight game in the 3-1 wiin over Augsburg.

If he’s not busy scoring goals, Sebastien Haller (r.) is making them. © gettyimages / Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images

Appearances: 13 (13 starts)
Goals: 9
Goals per game: 0.69

If you don’t love the sight of Reus in full flight, you can only be a Schalke fan. Fit again and bang in form, the Dortmund captain has been the fulcrum of Lucien Favre’s attack, prompting teammates and punishing opponents in equally effective measure with his Matchday 5 display in the 7-0 dismissal of Nuremberg one of his all-time best. He added to his tally in a narrow win at Wolfsburg, grabbed a brace in the comeback win over Bayern Munich on Matchday 11 and struck again in the Matchday 13 triumph over Freiburg.

Watch: Marco Reus is thriving at Dortmund in 2018/19

Appearances: 13 (12 starts)
Goals: 8
Goals per game: 0.62

The Germany international — like his team — has taken some time to get into his stride this term, but his brace in the 6-0 win over Nuremberg on Matchday 7 — added to the decisive double he claimed in the 3-2 victory over Hannover — suggests the jet-heeled forward has found his shooting boots. He added another brace on Matchday 10, spearheading Leipzig’s 3-0 win away to Hertha Berlin, and netted both goals against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 13.

Timo Werner has finished the last two seasons as RB Leipzig's top goalscorer.
Timo Werner has finished the last two seasons as RB Leipzig’s top goalscorer. © gettyimages / Matthias Kern

Alassane Plea (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Appearances: 12 (10 starts)
Goals: 8
Goals per game: 0.66

A useful goalscorer in his native France, Plea has looked every inch a thoroughbred goalgetter since joining the Foals’ stable from Nice in the summer. Like Duda, the former Lyon striker has shown a happy knack of tailoring his finishes to suit the opportunity with his aesthetically pleasing carbon-copy curlers cutting down Wolfsburg and Bayern the standout strikes. He also grabbed his first Bundesliga hat-trick against Werder Bremen on Matchday 11. If you ever wondered what the perfect start to a Bundesliga career looks like, look no further.

Gladbach’s Alassane Plea has made a seamless transition from Ligue 1 to the Bundesliga. © imago / Eibner

Appearances: 13 (13 starts)
Goals: 8
Goals per game: 0.62

Gladbach’s top scorer last term with 10 goals, Hazard went the first three games of 2018/19 without finding the net, but hit his stride with efforts in successive matches against Hertha Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg on Matchdays 4-6. The 2018 FIFA World Cup bronze medal winner added a fifth to his tally in the Matchday 9 loss to Freiburg, grabbed a brace against Fortuna Düsseldorf and grabbed the first of four Gladbach goals against Hannover on Matchday 12.

Thorgan Hazard (l.) is on for another double-digit return in front of goal for Gladbach in 2018/19. © imago / MIS

Appearances: 6 (6 starts)
Goals: 7
Goals per game: 1.2

There are entrances and then there are ENTRANCES!! Finnbogason made the latter when he came back from injury for his first appearance of the season on Matchday 6. He marked his return — and his 50th Bundesliga game — with a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Freiburg in which he had a hand in all four goals. He struck again in the 4-3 loss to Dortmund, but was overshadowed by Alcacer’s show-stealing display – before converting a penalty in the 2-1 win at Hannover. Finnbogason also netted in Matchday 10’s 2-2 draw with Nuremberg and the 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim a week later.

Alfred Finnbogason has returned to the Augsburg starting line-up with a bang. © imago / DeFodi

Appearances: 11 (11 starts)
Goals: 7
Goals per game: 0.64

What? Only a goal a shade over every other game to start the season? Yes, such are the stratospheric standards set by Bayern’s sharpshooter that what is an exceptional strike rate for us mere mortals is merely mortal for this god of goalscoring. Lewandowski went three games without finding the net, before striking twice against Wolfsburg to bump up his tally to five for the campaign. He also scored twice and had two ruled out in the Matchday 11 defeat to former club Dortmund.

Watch: All 29 of Robert Lewandowski’s 2017/18 Bundesliga goals

Appearances: 12 (12 starts)
Goals: 7
Goals per game: 0.58

The Slovakia international midfielder has scored in big wins at Schalke and at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern, underlining his ability to burn brightest when the heat is on. With an instinctive nose for goal, he can score from open play – as he did against Freiburg – but his free-kick strikes in Gelsenkirchen and Wolfsburg showed he is a threat inside and outside the penalty area.

Ondrej Duda made a prolific start to 2018/19. © imago / Matthias Koch

Appearances: 9 (4 starts)
Goals: 6
Goals per game: 0.66

After scoring from the bench in defeats to Fortuna Düsseldorf and Eintracht Frankfurt, Nelson ran riot on his second Bundesliga start of the season. The Arsenal loanee struck twice in seven second-half minutes on Matchday 8 as Hoffenheim came from a goal down to beat Nuremberg 3-1, netted a screamer in a 4-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 10 and delivered again within two minutes of his late introduction in the Matchday 11 win over Augsburg.

England U21 international Reiss Nelson (r.) has hit the ground running at Hoffenheim.
England U21 international Reiss Nelson (r.) has hit the ground running at Hoffenheim. © gettyimages / Patrik Stollarz/AFP

Appearances: 12 (7 starts)
Goals: 6
Goals per game: 0.50

Bayern Munich fans look away now… Dodi Lukebakio became not only the first player since Ebbe Sand for Schalke in 2001 to score a hat-trick against the record champions, but he was also the first player EVER to score a hat-trick against Manuel Neuer. Those three Matchday 12 goals took him up to five for the season in the Bundesliga and nine in all competitions, adding his four DFB Cup strikes to that list. The 21-year-old added a sixth league goal on Matchday 14, coolly tucking in a penalty away to Werder Bremen.

Dodi Lukebakio scored his sixth Bundesliga goal of the season with this penalty against Werder Bremen on Matchday 14.
Dodi Lukebakio scored his sixth Bundesliga goal of the season with this penalty against Werder Bremen on Matchday 14. © gettyimages / Martin Rose

Appearances: 13 (11 starts)
Goals: 6
Goals per game: 0.46

The Denmark international is lauded for his work ethic as he tirelessly harries opposing defenders, creating time and space for his teammates to score goals. This season, he has managed to ally both. He got the Leipzig party started in the 3-2 win over Hannover on Matchday 3; for the impressive 2-1 defeat of Hoffenheim, Poulsen did not even need any help in earning his team all three points; and hit a brace against Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 11 to take his season tally to a career-best six Bundesliga goals.

RB Leipzig's Yussuf Poulsen is enjoying a rich vein of goal-scoring form.
RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen is enjoying a rich vein of goal-scoring form. © imago / Jan Huebner

Appearances: 13 (13 starts)
Goals: 6
Goals per game: 0.46

Duda has claimed much of the attention at Hertha so far this season, but at 34, Ibisevic has probably already had enough of the limelight. What the veteran Bosnia-Herzegovina international striker clearly still has is a hunger for is goals. Two came in the sit-up-and-take-notice win over Gladbach on Matchday 4, while he shared the spotlight with Duda by netting in the victory over Bayern. His goal on Matchday 12 made him the first player in Bundesliga history to score 33 goals or more for three different top-flight clubs in Germany (Hertha, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart). He then celebrated his 300th Bundesliga appearance with a goal against Hannover.

Hertha Berlin’s Vedad Ibisevic is still banging in the goals at 34. © imago / Mausolf

Ante Rebic (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Appearances: 9 (7 starts)
Goals: 5
Goals per game: 0.55

The third member of Frankfurt’s fearsome attacking trident on this list, Rebic’s involvement in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final with Croatia meant he started the 2018/19 season later than most, only getting his first Bundesliga outing on Matchday 4. He has since set about making up for lost time, finding the net in four league games so far, most recently in the Eagles’ 3-0 triumph at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 10 and 3-1 win over Augsburg on Matchday 12.

Frankfurt’s Ante Rebic has put his injury troubles well and truly behind him. © gettyimages / Alexander Hassenstein

Appearances: 8 (2 starts)
Goals: 5
Goals per game: 0.50

After helping Croatia reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, Andrej Kramaric has picked up where he left off at Hoffenheim. The 27-year-old scored on his first Bundesliga appearance of the season, in the 3-1 win over Freiburg, and added to his tally in the defeat to RB Leipzig. Three successive goals against Augsburg, Hertha Berlin and Schalke (Matchdays 11-13) took him onto five for the season, and level with Roberto Firmino on 38 in Hoffenheim’s all-time Bundesliga scoring charts. Only Sejad Salihovic and Vedad Ibisevic scored more for the Sinsheim club.

Andrej Kramaric is up there with Hoffenheim's very best goalscorers, including Roberto Firmino.
Andrej Kramaric is up there with Hoffenheim’s very best goalscorers, including Roberto Firmino. © gettyimages / THOMAS KIENZLE

Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Appearances: 11 (11 starts)
Goals: 5
Goals per game: 0.46

Free of the injuries that ravaged promising spells with Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, Hofmann has been unleashed in 2018/19. He set the tone with a goal against Bayer Leverkusen on the opening weekend, before unloading on former employers Mainz on Matchday 8 with a first career hat-trick. Hofmann struck again in the Matchday 10 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Jonas Hofmann has been a revelation in the Gladbach midfield in 2018/19. © gettyimages / Alex Grimm

Appearances: 12 (11 starts)
Goals: 5
Goals per game: 0.42

Kevin Volland took a while to get going in 2018/19 and didn’t find the net until scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 5. He added another in the 6-2 rout of Werder Bremen on October before scoring a late brace to secure a 2-0 win at home to VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 13.

Kevin Volland lashed in this sumptuous half-volley to round off a 2-0 win for Bayer Leverkusen against VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 12. © gettyimages / Maja Hitij / Bongarts

Appearances: 13 (12 starts)
Goals: 5
Goals per game: 0.38

After his summer move from AZ Alkmaar, Weghorst netted his first Bundesliga goal as the Wolves claimed an impressive 3-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 2. The Dutchman soon demonstrated that he has a taste for top-shelf opponents, scoring again at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern Munich. He also gave Wolfsburg the lead from the penalty spot away to Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 9, paving the way for their first win since 1 September, and came up trumps from 12 yards in the Matchday 11 defeat to Hannover.

Wout Weghorst (c.) not only leads Wolfsburg’s scoring charts with five goals, he has also provided two assists in the Bundesliga. © gettyimages / Juergen Schwarz / Bongarts

Adam Szalai (Hoffenheim)

Appearances: 11 (10 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.36

Szalai scored three in his first two games of the season, but went quiet for five matches before rediscovering his touch against Nuremberg on Matchday 8. The Hungarian is now well on his way to topping his single-season-best of 13 Bundesliga goals in 2012/13.

Adam Szalai is scoring freely for Hoffenheim in 2018/19. © imago

Appearances: 11 (9 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.36

Müller flew out of the traps with goals in successive games against Hoffenheim and VfB Stuttgart on Matchdays 1 and 2, but it was another eight games before he found the net again in the Bundesliga. He scored his first brace of the season against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 12 – a game Bayern could only draw, despite leading 3-1.

Thomas Müller (c.) has been scoring goals in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich for nearly a decade. © gettyimages / Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

Appearances: 12 (5 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.34

Having opened his account for 2018/19 in Dortmund’s 7-0 demolition of Nuremberg on Matchday 5, Sancho needed just three minutes to give his side the lead in the 4-0 win at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 8. The 18-year-old England winger followed that up with his first career brace in the 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin. With his Bundesliga-leading six assists, Sancho has now had a hand in 10 league goals for BVB this season.

Jadon Sancho scored the first brace of his professional career as Borussia Dortmund drew with Hertha Berlin on Matchday 9. © gettyimages / Patrick Stollarz

Appearances: 13 (11 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.31

Back in the Bundesliga after a two-season loan spell in Austria with Rapid Vienna, Joelinton has slotted back in seamlessly at Hoffenheim. The Brazilian only made one Bundesliga appearance before jumping the border, but is a firm favourite with Julian Nagelsmann. The 22-year-old opened his account in the Matchday 4 draw with Borussia Dortmund, struck again in the Matchday 9 win over VfB Stuttgart, and followed that up with a fine brace against Bayer Leverkusen.

Joelinton is making the most of his second chance in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim. © gettyimages / Grimm

Appearances: 13 (13 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.31

Maxi Eggestein is one of the big reasons why Bremen have made such a flying start to the campaign. The 21-year-old scored in the draw against Nuremberg and in the win over Augsburg, before bringing up his first Bundesliga brace in the Matchday 8 success at Schalke. He’s now the first Bremen midfielder since Diego some 10 years ago to net four times in the first eight matches of a season.

Bremen’s Maxi Eggestein is fast becoming one of the Bundesliga’s most potent midfielders. © gettyimages / Martin Rose

Appearances: 13 (13 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.31

After scoring 19 goals in 37 league matches for Le Havre in France’s Ligue 2 last season, Jean-Philippe Mateta continues to turn heads in the Bundesliga with Mainz. The rangy forward opened his account in the Matchday 2 draw with Nuremberg, but then went seven matches before scoring in successive games (wins over Freiburg and Werder Bremen). He added a fourth to his tally with the winner against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Matchday 13.

Mainz are yet to lose when Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored. © gettyimages / Kienzler/Bongarts

Appearances: 13 (13 starts)
Goals: 4
Goals per game: 0.31

The Leverkusen youngster, who doesn’t turn 20 until June, opened his account for the season in a 1-0 win over Mainz on Matchday 4 and followed that up with a brace in the 6-2 thrashing over Werder Bremen on Matchday 9. The attacking midfielder went on to open the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Nuremberg on Matchday 13, taking him to four for the campaign and equalling his single-season personal best set in 2016/17.

Kai Havertz chipped in his fourth Bundesliga goal of the season in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-1 draw with Nuremberg on Matchday 13. © gettyimages / Alexander Hassenstein

On three goals

Jean-Kevin Augustin (Leipzig)
Ihlas Bebou (Hannover)
Ishak Belfodil (Hoffenheim)
Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen)
Nabil Bentaleb (Schalke)
Daniel Ginczek (Wolfsburg)
Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart)
Admir Mehmedi (Wolfsburg)
Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen)
Benito Raman (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich)
Gian-Luca Waldschmidt (Freiburg)
Bobby Wood (Hannover)

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