Ligue 1

E. Lepaul leads the race with 19 goals after 31 matches for Rennes. He is 3 goals clear of M. Greenwood on 16, while J. Panichelli sits 3 back on 16. At the current rate E. Lepaul projects to finish on around 21 for the season.

E. Lepaul has scored 19 goals for Rennes this season, accounting for 32% of the team's 59 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 Marseille, 1 goal against Paris FC, and 1 goal against Lyon. The numbers put him in the conversation for player of the season as long as the form holds.

1. E. Lepaul (Rennes) on 19 goals. 2. M. Greenwood (Marseille) on 16 goals. 3. J. Panichelli (Strasbourg) on 16 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 O. Dembélé of Paris Saint Germain rounds out the top three on 7.

B. Dieng of Lorient is the most efficient finisher in the league at 0.79 goals per 90 minutes. He has 10 goals from 1139 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.