Ligue 1

E. Lepaul leads the race with 18 goals after 30 matches for Rennes. He is 2 goals clear of J. Panichelli on 16, while M. Greenwood sits 3 back on 15. At the current rate E. Lepaul projects to finish on around 20 for the season.

E. Lepaul has scored 18 goals for Rennes this season, accounting for 31% of the team's 58 league goals. The output goes well beyond a flat scoring rate. He is the player Rennes turn to in tight games and the one defenders have to pick up first. Recent goal hauls include 1 goal against Paris FC, 1 goal against Lyon, and 1 goal against Nantes. The numbers put him in the conversation for player of the season as long as the form holds.

1. E. Lepaul (Rennes) on 18 goals. 2. J. Panichelli (Strasbourg) on 16 goals. 3. M. Greenwood (Marseille) on 15 goals. 4. F. Balogun (Monaco) on 13 goals. 5. O. Édouard (Lens) on 12 goals.

L. Ajorque of Stade Brestois 29 tops the assists chart with 9. A. Thomasson (Lens) is next on 9, and G. Hein of Metz rounds out the top three on 7.

O. Dembélé of Paris Saint Germain is the most efficient finisher in the league at 0.97 goals per 90 minutes. He has 10 goals from 930 minutes, so volume is not the headline. The story is how rarely he wastes time on the pitch.

J. Panichelli is the breakout story so far. In a first season at this level he has 16 goals for Strasbourg, the kind of return scouts will keep on file. Defenders did not have much footage to study, and J. Panichelli has used that to his advantage.