Primeira Liga

L. Suárez leads the race with 26 goals after 30 matches for Sporting CP. He is 4 goals clear of V. Pavlidis on 22, while Y. Begraoui sits 6 back on 20. At the current rate L. Suárez projects to finish on around 29 for the season.

L. Suárez has scored 26 goals for Sporting CP this season, accounting for 32% of the team's 82 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 Guimaraes, 1 goal against Tondela, and 1 goal against Benfica. The numbers put him in the conversation for player of the season as long as the form holds.

1. L. Suárez (Sporting CP) on 26 goals. 2. V. Pavlidis (Benfica) on 22 goals. 3. Y. Begraoui (Estoril) on 20 goals. 4. C. Ramírez (Nacional) on 16 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 Luís Esteves of GIL Vicente 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 26 goals from 2522 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 26 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.