MLS Golden Boot race: Can Inter Miami's Lionel Messi make up for lost time?

Denis Bouanga | LAFC, 17 goals

Bouanga got off to a slow start this season, but he has played well since returning from summer break. The Gabonese attacker has built strong partnerships with teammates Mateusz Bogusz (15 goals) and Dejan Joveljic (14 goals) to lift LAFC into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

He has 134 shots, nearly double the total for Benteke over a similar timeframe. Bouanga is fast, creative, tricky and an absolute nightmare to play against. 

Luis Suarez, Inter Miami | 17 goals

Suarez entered MLS amid a swirl of doubt because of chronic knee injuries. That doubt appears to have been unfounded. He is the most consistent of Miami's Fab Four this season and already has more goals in a season than anyone in Miami history. 

Suarez, a master of positioning, always knows where to be to maximize his chances of a goal. Miami is the top-scoring team in MLS by a considerable margin, and Suarez is the main reason why.

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami | 14 goals

Normally, a player with 14 goals would have no chance of catching Benteke on 19. But Messi, as we've come to realize, is not normal, and he's absolutely in the conversation for the Golden Boot. 

Messi's goal total puts him in fourth place in the league, but he's scored all of them in a fraction of the playing time of his competitors. He's averaging one goal every 82 minutes in MLS. Meanwhile, Benteke averages a goal every 113.

Messi missed a big chunk of the MLS season because of Copa America and the ankle injury he suffered in that tournament final. With games remaining against New York City FC, Charlotte, Columbus, Toronto and New England, Messi remains in position to get the Boot.