From Salzburg to Barcelona: The top 10 goalscoring sides in Europe

Dailyspotsnews takes a look at the continent's most prolific teams, excluding those participating in leagues that have had 15 or more rounds of action before the international break

Europe's top leagues have already proven awash with attacking talent in 2013-14, and while Red Bull Salzburg can legitimately lay claim to be the highest-scoring side in Europe so far this season, Barcelona are the continent's most prolific performers based on our run-down of the top-scoring sides so far in the campaign.

For the purposes of this analysis, we have elected to exclude those 'summer leagues' that operate outside of Europe's traditional August/September to May/June period, meaning there is not a single side in our top 10 that has played more than 13 games.

EUROPE'S TOP 10 GOALSCORING SIDES

NO.  CLUB GOALS GAMES RATIO   1 Salzburg 35 11 3.18   2 Sheriff 34 11 3.09   3 Trencin 32 13 2.46  =4 Shakhtar Donetsk 31 12 2.58  =4 Slovan Bratislava 31 13 2.38  =6 Teplice 30 10 3.0  =6 Dacia 30 11 2.72  =6 Zenit 30 12 2.5  =9 Barcelona 28 8 3.5  =9 Anderlecht 28 10 2.8

As already mentioned, Salzburg are Europe's top scorers, having struck 35 times in just 11 domestic outings. Interestingly, two players have accounted for well over half of the goals scored by the Austrian Bundesliga leaders, with forwards Jonathan Sorian (11) and Alan (8) having racked up 19 between them.

However, while Salzburg must be commended for averaging an impressive 3.18 goals per game, that is not the best ratio in Europe. That honour belongs to Barcelona.

The Catalans are only joint-ninth on our list, but their 28 goals have come in just eight Liga matches, meaning Gerardo Martino's men are currently scoring at a rate of 3.5 goals per game. 

Lionel Messi, of course, has played his part in that impressive strike rate, with the Argentine having netted eight times in La Liga already this term - in spite of his recent injury problems.

However, the contribution of Pedro and Alexis Sanchez should not be overlooked, as they have scored five and four goals respectively.

It is also worth noting that two countries provided four of our top 10. Molovan duo Sheriff and Dacia are second and joint-sixth respectively, while Slovakian outfit Trencin rank just above compatriots Slovan Bratislava.

Sheriff (3.09) deserve a special mention because they, along with Czech Republic's Teplice (3.0), are the only sides in Europe other than Salzburg and Barcelona that are currently averaging more than three goals per game.

Interestingly, the only side from one of Europe's other 'elite' leagues (England, Germany and Italy) that are scoring as freely as La Liga's Barcelona are Roma, who are doing their best to prove that Serie A's finest are just as adept at attacking as they are at defending by netting 20 times in just seven games, while conceding just once at the other end.

The Premier League's highest scorers are Manchester City, who have struck 17 times in seven games, though Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund are faring better, having hit 21 goals in eight outings.