Benzema heads Ligue 1 strike force

Karim Benzema registered his 16th Ligue 1 goal of the season for Olympique Lyonnais this weekend as he maintained hopes of becoming the youngest ever man to end the French season as top scorer – but there are some sizeable names looming over his shoulder.

Meilleur Buteur
Benzema began the season is irresistible form. He raced to eleven goals in Lyon's first eleven league outings and looked set to eclipse Djibril Cissé as the youngest ever Ligue 1 top scorer. Pauleta was the 'Meilleur Buteur' with 15 strikes last season but the 20-year-old Benzema has already passed that mark after notching up No16 for the campaign in the 4-1 victory against FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on Saturday. However, he cannot afforf to get complacent as the Olympique de Marseille duo of Cissé and Mamadou Niang are among a cluster of players just off the pace.

OM pair
Niang made his first Ligue 1 appearance since mid-December on Sunday but picked up where he left off against OGC Nice. Having failed to find the net at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, the 28-year-old made it eight goals in seven league appearances to set OM on course for a 2-0 victory. "Even though I would have preferred not be here and instead be playing in the Nations' Cup final, it was great to mark my return to Marseille with a goal," said Niang, whose strike-partner Cissé made it seven goals in five games in 2008 with the second strike, to move on to nine for the season.

Fragile confidence
Cissé was just 21 when he registered 22 goals for AJ Auxerre in 2001/02, though he has experienced difficult times since and whether he can prevent Benzema taking his record could come down to confidence. As he himself admits: "For me, much depends on my mental strength and I feel better in that sense in 2008." A UEFA Cup tie at home to FC Spartak Moskva on Wednesday could provide another boost, while FC Girondins de Bordeaux will travel to RSC Anderlecht with an in-form strike-force of their own.

Bellion quiet
With eleven strikes, David Bellion is level with Niang and although goals have been harder to come by for him of late, team-mate Fernando Cavenaghi is having no such problems. The Argentinian striker hit two against FC Metz on Saturday to make it six in five Ligue 1 starts since the turn of the year. He failed to register any before it, however, and will need a monumental effort to overhaul Benzema. So, many feel, will anybody else.