Goals keep coming for evergreen Di Natale

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Lionel Messi at the top of the ESM Golden Shoe rankings but with four goals in two games Udinese Calcio forward Antonio Di Natale was the week's major mover as he rose to third place.

The 33-year-old Italian international followed up his hat-trick in Udinese's 7-0 win at US Città di Palermo the previous weekend with the only goal against AS Bari on Sunday. That strike, a penalty, took his tally to 20 goals in 17 Serie A games – and continued a run that has taken Udinese, now in fifth position, from mid-table plodders to challengers for a UEFA Champions League spot. "Udinese are like a second family," he said. "I have to thank the president and the team for what they are doing – it's why I'm having such a positive time."

FC Internazionale Milano are also in fine fettle as they geared up for next Tuesday's trip to FC Bayern München with their 11th victory in 13 Serie A outings, 5-2 at home to Genoa CFC. Samuel Eto'o netted twice to reach 18 league goals for the campaign – six more than he managed last term.

As impressive as that tally is, Eto'o remains nine behind the two-horse race of Messi and Ronaldo. A rare week without a goal for Messi was capitalised on by Ronaldo, whose hat-trick in Real Madrid CF's 7-0 victory over Málaga CF last Thursday brought him level at the top of the standings with 11 games to go in the Spanish Liga.

ESM Golden Shoe standings: 6 March 2011
1. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona, ESP) 27 x 2 = 54
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF, ESP) 27 x 2 = 54
3. Antonio Di Natale (Udinese Calcio, ITA) 22 x 2 = 44
4. Edinson Cavani (SSC Napoli, ITA) 20 x 2 = 40
5. Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United FC, ENG) 19 x 2 = 38
6. Samuel Eto'o (FC Internazionale Milano, ITA) 18 x 2 = 36
Mario Gomez (FC Bayern München, GER) 18 x 2 = 36
Kenny Miller (Rangers FC/Bursaspor, SCO/TUR) 24 x 1,5 = 36
Carlos Tévez (Manchester City FC, ENG) 18 x 2 = 36
10. Papiss Cissé (SC Freiburg, GER) 17 x 2 = 34
Moussa Sow (LOSC Lille Métropole, FRA)  17 x 2 = 34
Marco Di Vaio (Bologna FC, ITA) 17 x 2 = 34
David Villa (FC Barcelona, ESP) 17 x 2 = 34

Rules
Only the leading five countries – Spain, Italy, Germany, France and England – in the UEFA rankings have two as their multiplier. This is to emphasise the difference in (international) performance level between clubs from those countries and those of other nations.

A player cannot play first in a summer league e.g. Norway and then in a winter league e.g. Spain and combine the points total for each season.