If you were asked who had the best minutes-per-goal ratio in the top five European leagues this season the usual suspects would crop up.
Cristiano Ronaldo has five goals in as many outings for Manchester United – on the other hand, Lionel Messi has only scored once since his move to Paris St-Germain.
How about Robert Lewandowski, with 13 goals already for Bayern Munich? Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema or Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland?
In fact it’s none of them – but rather Lewandowski’s Bayern team-mate Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting instead.
The Cameroon international came off the bench to score his seventh goal of the campaign in the German club’s 5-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League.
However, the 32-year-old’s strikes in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League have come in just 187 minutes on the pitch.
And despite being Lewandowski’s back-up, Choupo-Moting has the best strike-rate among players who have made at least five appearances in 2020-21.
| Player | Apps | Mins | Goals | Mins per goal |
| Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich) | 8 | 187 | 7 | 27 |
| Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) | 5 | 126 | 3 | 42 |
| Andrea Petagna (Napoli) | 7 | 51 | 1 | 51 |
| Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) | 9 | 744 | 13 | 57 |
| Yoane Wissa (Brentford) | 5 | 229 | 4 | 57 |
| Statistics provided by Opta |
Add in his three assists as well and Choupo-Moting is either scoring or creating a goal every 18.7 minutes.
Choupo-Moting spent several years playing in Germany with Hamburg, Mainz and Schalke before he was catapulted into the European elite following a year in the Premier League with Stoke City.
When he left, he surprisingly joined PSG in 2018 where he won two Ligue 1 titles and picked up a Champions League runner-up medal during two years at the Parc des Princes before joining Bayern last October.
The accolades have continued to wrack up since his move to Bavaria, with the Fifa World Club Cup title and a Bundesliga triumph last season.
His scoring streak may not last, but his form must feel a world away from five goals in 30 league outings for Stoke in 2017-18.
Meanwhile, Choupo-Moting has been named in the Cameroon squad for their two group matches against Mozambique in the current stage of African qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
The Indomitable Lions, who are second in Group D behind leaders Ivory Coast, face Mozambique on 8 October and 11 October.
The 10 group winners progress to next year’s play-offs to decide Africa’s five representatives in Qatar.
