Over the years, we are used to seeing the prominence of elite scorers such as Denis Bouanga, Carlos Vela, Hany Mukhtar, and many other prominent names in terms of putting up goals, but it seems that old-school strikers are doing their best to come up with huge success. On that note, Tai Taribo continues to impress and is not slowing down in his games so far.

Philadelphia has gone 3-1 to begin its first four games of the season, and their rise to dominance in the game after finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference last season has been really fun to watch. That is a huge rally that no one has expected to see so far, which says a lot about what has been seen in the squad’s impressive games as of now.

Baribo’s game has been on the rise for quite some time, and it seems that he has been long overdue for this kind of huge game. With his fine scoring, Philadelphia is in the top-four mix and is outright challenging Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew for the top spot in the Eastern Conference – something that has been a rare sight for a team coming off a missed playoff campaign.

Blazing Baribo

Tai Baribo just logged a hat trick in yesterday’s win against Cincinnati FC, another contender team that the Union has managed to defeat so far. In four games, Baribo has tallied a total of six goals, and he is setting his expected goals total at a whopping 4.04, a scoring rate that is unsustainable for some.

With the way he scores and how he incredibly fits well under new head coach Bradley Carnell is a promising sight. The high-tempo football is quite impressive as Baribo presses and pushes the ball as fast as he can, and with his clever movement and efficient targeting, he is making his life easier on the attack.

For instance, all of the six goals that Baribo has scored came off from one-touch finishes inside the penalty box. The fact that he can drive deep into that lane says a lot about how he can actually keep on firing and adding more to his goal tally. One shouldn’t be surprised anymore as to how he continues to be the top four favorite to win the Golden Boot at +1200

Lionel Messi leads the fray with +333, followed by Christian Benteke at +600 and Luis Suarez at +1000. Still, the odds don’t necessarily tell all of the story, and it is why Baribo is expected now to be the favorite to win – despite the season being just into four games.

Keeping Pace

Hugo Cuypers also trails Baribo for the most goals scored so far with four for the Chicago Fire FC. Cuypers has Brian Gutiérrez, Philip Zinckernagel and Jonathan Bamba – all feeding him the ball, and his off-ball running has been equally efficient so far, which has allowed him to find the open looks he needs to score easily.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Brian White, San Diego FC’s Anders Dreyer, and many other names are also making a case for the Golden Boot. However, it is still too early to say how they will find their way into the scoring column. Baribo, on the other hand, has already had his pace set, which means that he may well be gunning for a shot at the Golden Boot by the end of the season, assuming he stays on a promising pace for the whole season.

Being an experienced player who has logged minutes with the Maccabi Petah Tikva and Wolfsberger AC seems to have helped him emerge as an elite player so far. Given how he has scored 23 and 28 goals on those teams, respectively, one can expect him to continue putting up more goals in the coming weeks.