Top Scorers List in La Liga 2016: Luis Suarez Chasing Back-to-Back Pichichi; Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale Lag Behind
Espanyol's Gerard Moreno and Barcelona's Luis Suarez battle for La Liga scoring title: who will win?
The 2016-17 La Liga season is only entering its third week of contention, but a lot of action had kept fans on the edge of their seats. Top-tier talents are once again showing off their skills amid tight competition in the Spanish league.
It is never too early to keep track of this season's frontrunners for the coveted Pichichi Award, given to the best goal scorer at the end of the year. However, while the list includes predictable names, the grueling league can still trigger a lot of changes in these players' prowess.
Nevertheless, here are La Liga's top scorers as of press time:
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Gerard Moreno (Espanyol 3 goals)
Espanyol is down to the 14th place in league standings, following a 2-2 draw against Malaga in Week 2. Two of those goals, however, were scored by Moreno, one of the remaining bright spots in the team. It is granted, however, that the Pichichi contender and his Catalan squad still has a lot of games left to climb up the ranks
Luis Suarez (Barcelona 3 goals)
Moreno only leads Suarez in this lead due to shot accuracy. The latter is 67 percent in shots on target, compared to Moreno's 67 percent.
Suarez still has a huge chance to topple the odds. He had just won the Pichichi Award in the offseason, beating Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentinian teammate Lionel Messi. It was his third scoring award, too, winning the Dutch league Eredivisie's scoring title and the Premier League Golden Boot in 2014.
He also scored those last three goals in a hat trick, defeating Real Betis 6-2 in their season opener.
Nabil El Zhar (Las Palmas 2 goals)
El Zhar bolstered a resounding 5-1 win against Granada, adding two goals to what had been a great start to his team's season.
Las Palmas is at the top of the standings this week with nine goals, trailed by none other than last season's champions Barcelona.
Marko Livaja (Las Palmas 2 goals)
Livaja debuted for Las Palmas in Week 1, and what a debut it was. He scored one of two Las Palmas goals in a 4-2 rout of Valencia, sharing the victory with football journeyman Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona 2 goals)
The Argentinian legend may be nearing the twilight of his illustrious career, but Messi showed he still got game in Week 1. Suarez's hat trick may be the highlight of the game, but Messi also scored two goals in the 6-2 win over Real Betis.
Barcelona is pursuing their third straight championship building on the renowned talents of their two superstars.
Here are the other players with two goals each:
Kevin-Prince Boateng (Las Palmas)
Luciano Vietto (on loan to Sevilla)
Santi Mina (Valencia)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Ruben Castro (Real Betis)
