Primeira Liga

L. Suárez leads the race with 28 goals after 32 matches for Sporting CP. He is 5 goals clear of V. Pavlidis on 23, while Y. Begraoui sits 8 back on 20. At the current rate L. Suárez projects to finish on around 30 for the season.

L. Suárez has scored 28 goals for Sporting CP this season, accounting for 31% of the team's 89 league goals. The output goes well beyond a flat scoring rate. He is the player Sporting CP turn to in tight games and the one defenders have to pick up first. Recent goal hauls include 1 goal against GIL Vicente, 1 goal against Rio Ave, and 1 goal against Guimaraes. The numbers put him in the conversation for player of the season as long as the form holds.

1. L. Suárez (Sporting CP) on 28 goals. 2. V. Pavlidis (Benfica) on 23 goals. 3. Y. Begraoui (Estoril) on 20 goals. 4. C. Ramírez (Nacional) on 18 goals. 5. R. Zalazar (SC Braga) on 16 goals.

Trincão of Sporting CP tops the assists chart with 11. João Carvalho (Estoril) is next on 11, and Pote of Sporting CP rounds out the top three on 8.

L. Suárez of Sporting CP is the most efficient finisher in the league at 0.93 goals per 90 minutes. He has 28 goals from 2697 minutes, so volume is not the headline. The story is how rarely he wastes time on the pitch.

L. Suárez is the breakout story so far. In a first season at this level he has 28 goals for Sporting CP, the kind of return scouts will keep on file. Defenders did not have much footage to study, and L. Suárez has used that to his advantage.