Henry Martín vs Julián Quiñones in the race for the Liga MX top-scorer trophy

Henry Martín is turning into the best striker in Liga MX. With 13 goals in the Clausura 2023, he is at the top of the goalscoring charts of all players in the league. However, the Mexican has no room to take his foot off the accelerator, as Atlas’ Julián Quiñones is hot on his tail in a fight that is set to rage on until the very last kick of the season.

Henry Martín’s 2023 Clausura campaign has been quite extraordinary with América. As well as the 13 goals he has scored, his all-round numbers put him ahead of Quiñones, according to Sofascore.

Both players have played 15 games in the tournament so far this season, meaning that they have featured in all of the possible fixtures. Martín leads the way with 13 and Julián Quiñones has 10, even if the Atlas player does not function directly as a centre-forward for the side.

The heat maps below reflect the average positions of the two players, and it can be seen that Martín’s movement is mostly through the middle of the pitch, both inside and outside the box. As for Quiñones, his movement is much more slanted towards the left side of the pitch, which puts him next to Julio Firch.

Also, despite the fact that a striker who has scored 13 might be seen as greedy, Martín’s 5 assists show that this is not the case at all (Quiñones has one). Without doubt, the creation of goals has been an aspect of his game that Martín has improved over recent times and one of his main qualities has become holding the ball up on the edge of the box.

The Colombian has, perhaps surprisingly given his positioning, more shots per game, with 3.7 compared to 2.7 for Martín. However, Martín has a higher accuracy, with over half of his hitting the target (55% vs 46.4%).

Liga MX’s finest forwards

Further in terms of creativity and danger created on the pitch, Martín has been slightly more decisive with a total of 26 key passes to Quiñones’ 21. The numbers are simply splitting hairs, however, and Martín’s scoring form can easily take a wobble which would undoubtedly see Quiñones close the gap.

The two players are Mexico’s finest marksmen this season, and the Liga MX is much better off with them firing on all cylinders as they are. Both players are valued at around €6 million and Martín’s contract runs to 2024, while Quiñones signed with Atlas until 2026, which means that we should hope to see them continue their goalscoring exploits in Mexico for at least the near future.