Suarez draws level with Ronaldo in Golden Shoe race

The Portugal international went top following his wonder strike against Valencia, but the Liverpool star's strike against Crystal Palace has moved him back to joint-leader

Liverpool star Luis Suarez has drawn back level with Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the rankings for the European Golden Shoe thanks to his goal in the 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday.

Suarez scored his side's third in their remarkable clash with Tony Pulis' men - in which the home side scored all three of their goals in the final 15 minutes - to move on to 31 for the season in the Premier League.

Lionel Messi netted once in Barcelona's 2-2 draw versus Getafe on Saturday and has now moved into third position ahead of Atletico Madrid hitman Diego Costa, who didn't add to his tally against Levante.

Salzburg duo Jonatan Soriano and Alan both scored once in their side's 4-0 win over Ried, with the former occupying fifth place and the latter sitting ninth.

Heerenveen striker Alfred Finnbogason was crowned Eredivisie top scorer at the weekend after scoring one goal in the Friezen's 3-0 win over RKC.

Rank	Player	Country	Club	League	Weight	Goals	Points
1	C. Ronaldo	POR	Real Madrid	ESP	2	31	62
2	Luis Suarez	URU	Liverpool	ENG	2	31 (+1)	62
3	Lionel Messi	ARG	Barcelona	ESP	2	28	56
4	Diego Costa	ESP	Atletico Madrid	ESP	2	27	54
5	J. Soriano	ESP	Salzburg	AUT	1.5	31	46.5
6	A. Finnbogason	ISL	Heerenveen	NED	1.5	29	43.5
7	Ciro Immobile	ITA	Torino	ITA	2	21	42
8	Daniel Sturridge	ENG	Liverpool	ENG	2	20	40
9	Alan	BRA	Salzburg	AUT	1.5	26	39
10	Luca Toni	ITA	Hellas Verona	ITA	2	19	38
=	Carlos Tevez	ARG	Juventus	ITA	2	19	38
=	Yaya Toure	CIV	Manchester City	ENG	2	19	38
=	Jackson Martinez	COL	Porto	POR	2	19	38

History & How It Works

Players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Diego Forlan have won the European Golden Shoe in the past few seasons, with the Argentina international as the latest winner of the award following his 46 goals in 2012-13.

Other noteworthy winners include the likes of Francesco Totti, Luca Toni, Ronaldo, Marco van Basten, Eusebio and Gerd Muller.

The weightings are determined by the league's ranking on the Uefa coefficients, which in turn depend on the results of each league's clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons. Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the Uefa coefficients are multiplied by a factor of two, and goals scored in the leagues ranked six to 21 are multiplied by 1.5. Goals in all other leagues are worth one single point.

This measure has prevented players from so-called weaker leagues from winning the European Golden Shoe, since a goal scored in, for example, Armenia, Estonia or Azerbaijan, carries less weight than a goal scored in Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga or the Premier League.

Blanc signs new Paris Saint-Germain contract

The 48-year-old's position had come under scrutiny after the capital club's Champions League exit but he has since led the club to a league-and-cup double

Paris Saint-Germain have announced that coach Laurent Blanc has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the Parc des Princes until 2016.
The former France international's future had been cast into doubt after the capital club's disappointing Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Chelsea last month.
However, Blanc has subsequently led PSG to a Coupe de la Ligue and Ligue 1 double, much to the delight of president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
"It is perfectly justified to show our confidence in Laurent Blanc," the Qatari stated on Thursday. "We are very happy with his result this season, as well as the very attractive football the team has played. We are convinced we will win a lot more trophies together."
Blanc, meanwhile, admitted that he was only too keen to extend his stay at the Parc des Princes after a successful debut season at the helm.
"I am very happy to continue with Paris Saint-Germain," the World Cup winner stated. "I want to be part of this project over the long term, the most ambitious project in European football. Together, we will dream bigger."
                                                                                                                   -Goal.com