It’s been another enthralling season in Spain. Real Madrid clinched a 36th La Liga title, surprise package Girona sealed a place in the Champions League and Athletic Bilbao clinched the Copa del Rey after six straight final defeats.
More than 1,000 goals were scored by the 20 sides as stunning football and great displays entertained millions of fans tuning in to see the likes of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Betis compete in one of the best leagues on the planet. This article will run through the top goal scorers in La Liga now the thrilling campaign has come to an end.
Artem Dovbyk – Girona
The Ukraine international became Girona’s record signing when he joined the club from Dnipro-1 last summer for a fee of 7 million Euros and the striker was worth every penny.
Top scoring in the Spanish top-flight, Dovbyk’s goals helped catapult Girona to the top of the table. Netting 24 times in 36 La Liga appearances, Dovbyk led the way as the team combined to score an incredible 85 goals and finish third, only trailing champions Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Among the forward’s haul were two hat-tricks – the first recorded against Sevilla in 5-1 victory over Sevilla in January and another in the 7-0 hammering of Granada on the final day of the season as Girona put the icing on the cake of a fine campaign.
Dovbyk will appear at Euro 2024 for Ukraine this summer before Girona play in the Champions League next season following a dream year.
Alexander Sorloth
The Norwegian once again proved he knows where the net is by scoring more than a third of Villarreal’s goals this season. Sorloth netted 23 times for the Yellow Submarines with the highlight coming in the penultimate week of the season as he netted four times in a brilliant 4-4 draw with title winners Real Madrid.
Now with a century of strikes in league football, the attacker has proved his credentials after a curious career saw him stutter with Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig but shine for Trabzonspor in Turkey – where he scored 33 times across all competitions back in the 2019/20 season – and now with Villarreal following two seasons on loan at Real Sociedad.
An international team-mate of Erling Haaland, it’s fair to say Norway can score goals and so it’s a shame the nation failed to qualify for the Euros in Germany this summer.
Robert Lewandowski
Having netted an incredible 447 goals in Bundesliga across 12 seasons with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, it’s no surprise to see that Robert Lewandowski has continued his goalscoring exploits in Spain with Barcelona.
The Poland captain scored 19 goals in 35 matches for the Catalan giants including a hat-trick in April’s 4-2 victory over Valencia. Having trailed Real and Girona for much of the season, Barca enjoyed a strong end to the season, winning eleven of their final 14 games with Lewandowski scoring six in six.
One of the great strikers of the 21st century, Lewandowski has enhanced the star quality at the Nou Camp as Barcelona continues its transition since Lionel Messi left the club and the forward is an integral player.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham only turns 21 in June and yet the midfielder has already made more than 200 appearances since making his Birmingham City debut in 2019.
The England international, who will celebrate his birthday during Euro 2024, has enjoyed an astronomical rise to the top but it comes as no surprise to those who have seen him play. Bellingham is a world-class talent playing for a world-class team.
Top scoring for Real Madrid is no mean feat but that is what the youngster has achieved in his debut campaign at the Bernabeu, writing his name into the Real history books alongside the likes of Ronaldo, Cristiano and Raul.
A talismanic figure for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, Bellingham netted 19 times to help Real lift the La Liga title with one of the many highlights coming when he popped up with a 90th-minute El Clasico winner. Dream stuff for the Three Lions player.
Ante Budimir
Budimir netted 17 goals this season – outscoring Atletico Madrid duo Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata and Sevilla frontman Youssef En-Nesyri – to help Osasuna achieve a top-11 finish in La Liga for a fifth consecutive season.
The towering Croatian, who turns 33 in the summer, recorded the greatest league tally of his career and netted the winning goal in Osasuna’s 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad back in February.
It was a campaign to remember on the international stage for Budimir too as he netted the only goal of the game against Armenia in Euro qualifying to confirm his nation’s place at this summer’s tournament in Germany.
Summing Up
It was a memorable campaign in Spain, particularly for Artem Dovbyk who top scored in La Liga and helped Girona qualify for the Champions League next season. Jude Bellingham announced his arrival by helping Real Madrid win the title and Robert Lewandowski did what he does best for Barcelona while Alexander Sorloth and Ante Budimir netted regularly for Villarreal and Osasuna respectively.
The five players will be aiming to top the charts again in 2024/25 but could face competition from Kylian Mbappe and of course, frontmen including the likes of Antonine Griezmann and Inaki Williams next season. One thing is for sure, La Liga will be full of goals and no doubt smash the 1,000-barrier again.
