Kane, Demirović, Guirassy: the Bundesliga trio leading the UEFA Champions League scoring charts
Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, VfB Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirović and Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy sit atop the UEFA Champions League scoring charts after just four Matchdays in European club football’s premier competition.
They are joined on four goals by former Dortmund forwards Erling Haaland and Donyell Malen as well as five other players from across the continent who are averaging a goal-a-game at Europe’s top table this term.
Same old Harry….
Seeing Kane at the top of a scoring chart is hardly anything new, but the Bayern man’s remarkable consistency really should be applauded rather than taken for granted.
His four strikes this season – from just eight shots on target – mean he has struck 37 times in 42 Champions League games since joining Bayern in 2023, an average of 0.88 goals per appearance.
The newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner has not scored in three competitive outings since picking up football’s biggest individual prize, but he did provide a superb assist for Konrad Laimer in Tuesday’s defeat of Atlético Madrid.
That was the third Bayern goal Kane has teed up in the competition this season to move to seven goal involvements so far, a tally matched only by Roma’s Malen and Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal.
Watch: Kane's rise to Ballon d'Or winner
His career tally of 58 – including 21 in 32 for Tottenham Hotspur – means he is ahead of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Alan Shearer as the competition’s top scoring Englishman.
He had become the first English player to score in 10 successive Champions League matches before finally drawing a blank against Atletico and the 14 goals he struck last season are the most by any of his compatriots in a single season.
It is little wonder Bayern are keen to tie him to them for longer. And the feeling is mutual.
“A lot of the bigger stuff has been ironed out and we are happy with it, but in every contract there are loads of little things that go into it, small details that in the end the lawyers have to thrash out and figure out,” Kane explained regarding extending his current Bayern contract beyond the end of the 2026/27 season. “So, all in all, I would say it is more days than weeks.”
Deadly Demirović
With five goals in eight Bundesliga appearances, the question was whether Demirović could carry his domestic form onto the European stage. The answer is a resounding “Ja!”
Already well on his way to bettering the 12 goals in 25 top-flight games he tallied last season, he has already smashed his personal best in the Champions League. Prior to the current campaign, he had scored just once in European club football’s premier competition with the lone strike in Stuttgart’s 5-1 defeat in Belgrade to FK Crvena Zvezda in November 2024.
This season, he has hit the ground running. Hard.
He struck a maiden European hat-trick in just 12 minutes in the Matchday 1 win over Viking before finding the net again in the next continental outing as Stuttgart put Slovan Bratislava to the sword.
Watch: Deadly Demirović
Of the three Bundesliga players at the top of the scoring charts, Demirović is actually the most potent. His four goals have come on average every 42 minutes on the pitch with Guirassy at 52 minutes and Kane 90.
And the reason for his uptick in form? Former Bayern forward Nils Petersen suggested earlier in the season that the Stuttgart striker plays better when he’s annoyed.
“I think so,” Demirovic admitted. “I think a few things had built up inside me, although I’m happy to be here now.”
That’s great news for Stuttgart fans and coach Sebastian Hoeneß, because – like Guirassy – he has failed to provide and assist as yet, and after drawing a blank against Atletico has not managed to find the net in his last two European outings. That means he should be furious with himself when he faces Inter Milan on 25 November next time out.
Serhou or Superman?
"Serhou is a machine, and I don't really have to say much more,” announced Dortmund Gregor Kobel after seeing his seemingly bionic teammate strike against Sabah to earn BVB the points on Matchday 3.
Guirassy’s efforts in the Champions League certainly are superhuman. Ahead of the Matchday 4 meeting with Real Betis, no other BVB player has scored in the competition with all four goals coming from the boot of their prolific Guinea international.
He has proven ruthless and remarkably efficient with his tally – comprising braces in wins against Villarreal and Sabah – coming from just six shots on target. They have moved him to within two goals of a place among the Champions League’s all-time top 50 scorers.
Watch: All of Guirassy's Bundesliga goals
And like all good goalscorers, Guirassy is focussed on improving his stats. "I think we needed too many chance,” said the Guinea international after the Sabah game. “We could have scored more."
