Serie A

Lautaro Martínez leads the race with 17 goals after 30 matches for Inter. He is 3 goals clear of T. Douvikas on 14, while D. Malen sits 3 back on 14. At the current rate Lautaro Martínez projects to finish on around 22 for the season.

Lautaro Martínez has scored 17 goals for Inter this season, accounting for 19% of the team's 89 league goals. The output goes well beyond a flat scoring rate. He is the player Inter turn to in tight games and the one defenders have to pick up first. Recent goal hauls include 1 goal against Lazio and 2 goals against AS Roma. The numbers put him in the conversation for player of the season as long as the form holds.

1. Lautaro Martínez (Inter) on 17 goals. 2. T. Douvikas (Como) on 14 goals. 3. D. Malen (AS Roma) on 14 goals. 4. M. Thuram (Inter) on 13 goals. 5. N. Paz (Como) on 12 goals.

F. Dimarco of Inter tops the assists chart with 16. A. Laurienté (Sassuolo) is next on 9, and Jesús Rodríguez of Como rounds out the top three on 9.

D. Malen of AS Roma is the most efficient finisher in the league at 0.85 goals per 90 minutes. He has 14 goals from 1478 minutes, so volume is not the headline. The story is how rarely he wastes time on the pitch.

D. Malen is the breakout story so far. In a first season at this level he has 14 goals for AS Roma, the kind of return scouts will keep on file. Defenders did not have much footage to study, and D. Malen has used that to his advantage.