Pichichis

European competitions proper started this week, with no less than eight Spanish sides involved. The veterans got off to a good start in the Champions League, with Messi and Henry scoring as Barcelona beat Lyon, Raúl and Van Nistelrooy on target as Real Madrid won against Werder Bremen, and Villa getting the only goal at Schalke. Only Sevilla missed out, their defeat at Arsenal proving that things are a bit more difficult at this level.

Four teams from La Liga will be vying to take over Sevilla's crown as two-time UEFA cup champions, and they too generally did well in the first round. Nihat proved he is back to his old form as Villarreal hit four against Borisov, and there were four goals as well for Atlético against Erciyesspor, with Luis García getting two late on after Mista and Forlán had opened the scoring. A late goal from Uche gave Getafe the victory over Twente in their first ever European game, and only Zaragoza lost, their 1-0 defeat to Aris Salonica giving them some work to do in a fortnight's time.

Back to the league at the weekend, and Messi proved he is the man to watch this season with two (including a penalty) in Barcelona's victory against Sevilla. Kanouté's late goal in the Nou Camp kept him well clear at the top of the chart, but couldn't change the result. Rossi got two as well for Villarreal despite only playing the last half hour, taking the "Yellow Submarine" up to second. Agüero and Forlán both got their fourth goals of the season as Atlético added four more to their midweek tally, and Güiza saved the day for Mallorca with a late equaliser at Almería. (24.09.07)

Pichichi League Cup Europe Total
(Penalties)
Kanouté (Sevilla) 4 3 1 8 (0)
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) 1 1 3 5 (2)
Sneijder (Real Madrid) 4 0 0 4 (0)
Agüero (Atlético) 3 0 1 4 (0)
Kerzhakov (Sevilla) 3 0 1 4 (0)
Diego Forlán (Atlético) 1 0 3 4 (0)
Güiza (Mallorca) 3 0 0 3 (0)
Rossi (Villarreal) 3 0 0 3 (1)
Messi (Barcelona) 2 0 1 3 (1)
Raúl (Real Madrid) 2 0 1 3 (0)
Morientes (Valencia) 2 0 1 3 (0)
Nihat (Villarreal) 1 0 2 3 (0)
Renato (Sevilla) 0 2 1 3 (0)
Luis García (Atlético) 0 0 3 3 (0)