He grew up harbouring hopes of shining amid a galaxy of stars at Barcelona. Jonathan Soriano’s Nou Camp dreams soon came crashing back to earth, but the forward has certainly found his wings again with Red Bull Salzburg. The former Barca B striker, who is aiming to floor Celtic in the Europa League at Parkhead on Thursday, can claim to be the only striker in Europe to have outscored Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo at club level so far in 2014. Jonathan Soriano failed to make the grade at Barcelona but has found his form at red Bull Salzburg . Soriano has netted 53 goals for the Austrian side to Ronaldo’s 49. Last season, he finished fifth in the European Golden Shoe rankings, behind Diego Costa, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ronaldo. Soriano is currently revelling in his duel with the holder of the FIFA Ballon d’Or, although he admits it is a battle he cannot win. ‘Being (in contention) with Ronaldo is nice and I want to enjoy it,’ said Soriano recently. ‘But fighting for the Golden Shoe is difficult, I don’t think about that. In Austria, each goal counts for less (than goals scored in Spain), so I’d have to score lots and lots more to win.’ Soriano’s numbers are certainly impressive. In 15 Europa League matches, he has scored 16 goals; an average of one every 77 minutes. In all matches this season, the 29-year-old has scored 28 in 26 games; a goal every 75 minutes. In less than two years, he has accumulated a staggering 110 goals for Salzburg, including 11 in last year’s Europa League, finishing top scorer in the competition. Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who picked a Soriano free-kick out of his net in the 2-2 draw in Austria, has already pinpointed the Spaniard as the biggest danger to his side’s hopes of reaching the last 32. The Spanish forward has scored 16 goals in 15 Europa league matches - that's one every 77 minutes . ‘He is very good,’ said the Parkhead No 1, who hopes to wrap up qualification before a tricky final-day tie away to rivals Dinamo Zagreb. ‘Not just his free-kick, his all-round play was very good. He’s very dangerous and we’ll need to try to stop him.’ Soriano has certainly attracted attention. After his hat-trick in a 5-1 Group D win away at Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia international manager Niko Kovac said: ‘If Soriano had speed he would still be at Barcelona as their starting centre-forward.’ Yet while the Salzburg striker’s stats make for frightening reading, Sky’s Spanish football expert Gerry Armstrong is not convinced. While evidently too good to play in Austria and a proven Europa League predator, former Northern Ireland and Real Mallorca star Armstrong believes Soriano is at Salzburg for a reason: he has found his level, and Cristiano Ronaldo he is not. Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon described Soriano as 'very dangerous' ‘He’s a very skilful player but there are dozens of Jonathan Sorianos in Spain,’ said Armstrong, who famously scored the only goal of the game for Northern Ireland against hosts Spain at the 1982 World Cup. ‘I honestly see dozens of players like him all season. I was at the Valencia against Levante game at the weekend and it was 1-1 when a guy came off the bench for Levante called Jose Luis Morales. ‘Morales was on the park one minute when he ran at a couple of defenders, stepped over the ball twice and cracked in a spectacular winner from 30 yards. ‘That’s just what they produce over in Spain. Excellent forwards with great technique and goalscoring prowess, like Jonathan Soriano. ‘But, at Barcelona, you’ve got rapid players at another level like Pedro, Neymar and Suarez. ‘They’ve had to loan Cristian Tello out, who is a terrific player and a flying machine. Gerard Deulofeu, who was at Everton last season, can’t — and won’t — get in the Barca team either and he’s no slouch. Alexis, who is now at Arsenal, also had plenty pace and skill. Soriano is the only player to have scored more goals than Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014 . ‘So Barca have lots of top quality and speedy players and the simple reason Soriano is not there any more is because, good player that he is, he’s not good enough for Barca. ‘It’s one thing being able to do it in Austria and another thing to be able to do it in Spain, or at Celtic Park in front of a large and hostile crowd for that matter.’ Soriano’s former Barca B striking partner Nolito, now at Celta Vigo, was recently called into the full Spain side at the age of 28. At just one year his elder, Soriano has also been tipped in some quarters for a late first full Spain cap, but Armstrong does not believe that is likely. He added: ‘But if you are scoring goals, you are a danger and Soriano’s definitely got great pace and great technique. ‘If he gets in a one-on-one situation Celtic are in trouble. ‘But I’ve watched Celtic a few times this season and it seems to me they are improving all the time. ‘And if Celtic and Ronny Deila do their homework on Soriano, then I’m sure they will be fine and they will get the result they need to go through.’ Soriano will be setting his sights on Celtic on Thursday in their Europa League clash at Parkhead .
Jonathan Soriano has scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014 .
The former Barcelona forward currently plays for Red Bull Salzburg .
Soriano and his club will take on Celtic on Thursday night at Parkhead .
He grew up harbouring hopes of shining amid a galaxy of stars at Barcelona. Jonathan Soriano’s Nou Camp dreams soon came crashing back to earth, but the forward has certainly found his wings again with Red Bull Salzburg. The former Barca B striker, who is aiming to floor Celtic in the Europa League at Parkhead on Thursday, can claim to be the only striker in Europe to have outscored Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo at club level so far in 2014. Jonathan Soriano failed to make the grade at Barcelona but has found his form at red Bull Salzburg . Soriano has netted 53 goals for the Austrian side to Ronaldo’s 49. Last season, he finished fifth in the European Golden Shoe rankings, behind Diego Costa, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ronaldo. Soriano is currently revelling in his duel with the holder of the FIFA Ballon d’Or, although he admits it is a battle he cannot win. ‘Being (in contention) with Ronaldo is nice and I want to enjoy it,’ said Soriano recently. ‘But fighting for the Golden Shoe is difficult, I don’t think about that. In Austria, each goal counts for less (than goals scored in Spain), so I’d have to score lots and lots more to win.’ Soriano’s numbers are certainly impressive. In 15 Europa League matches, he has scored 16 goals; an average of one every 77 minutes. In all matches this season, the 29-year-old has scored 28 in 26 games; a goal every 75 minutes. In less than two years, he has accumulated a staggering 110 goals for Salzburg, including 11 in last year’s Europa League, finishing top scorer in the competition. Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who picked a Soriano free-kick out of his net in the 2-2 draw in Austria, has already pinpointed the Spaniard as the biggest danger to his side’s hopes of reaching the last 32. The Spanish forward has scored 16 goals in 15 Europa league matches - that's one every 77 minutes . ‘He is very good,’ said the Parkhead No 1, who hopes to wrap up qualification before a tricky final-day tie away to rivals Dinamo Zagreb. ‘Not just his free-kick, his all-round play was very good. He’s very dangerous and we’ll need to try to stop him.’ Soriano has certainly attracted attention. After his hat-trick in a 5-1 Group D win away at Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia international manager Niko Kovac said: ‘If Soriano had speed he would still be at Barcelona as their starting centre-forward.’ Yet while the Salzburg striker’s stats make for frightening reading, Sky’s Spanish football expert Gerry Armstrong is not convinced. While evidently too good to play in Austria and a proven Europa League predator, former Northern Ireland and Real Mallorca star Armstrong believes Soriano is at Salzburg for a reason: he has found his level, and Cristiano Ronaldo he is not. Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon described Soriano as 'very dangerous' ‘He’s a very skilful player but there are dozens of Jonathan Sorianos in Spain,’ said Armstrong, who famously scored the only goal of the game for Northern Ireland against hosts Spain at the 1982 World Cup. ‘I honestly see dozens of players like him all season. I was at the Valencia against Levante game at the weekend and it was 1-1 when a guy came off the bench for Levante called Jose Luis Morales. ‘Morales was on the park one minute when he ran at a couple of defenders, stepped over the ball twice and cracked in a spectacular winner from 30 yards. ‘That’s just what they produce over in Spain. Excellent forwards with great technique and goalscoring prowess, like Jonathan Soriano. ‘But, at Barcelona, you’ve got rapid players at another level like Pedro, Neymar and Suarez. ‘They’ve had to loan Cristian Tello out, who is a terrific player and a flying machine. Gerard Deulofeu, who was at Everton last season, can’t — and won’t — get in the Barca team either and he’s no slouch. Alexis, who is now at Arsenal, also had plenty pace and skill. Soriano is the only player to have scored more goals than Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014 . ‘So Barca have lots of top quality and speedy players and the simple reason Soriano is not there any more is because, good player that he is, he’s not good enough for Barca. ‘It’s one thing being able to do it in Austria and another thing to be able to do it in Spain, or at Celtic Park in front of a large and hostile crowd for that matter.’ Soriano’s former Barca B striking partner Nolito, now at Celta Vigo, was recently called into the full Spain side at the age of 28. At just one year his elder, Soriano has also been tipped in some quarters for a late first full Spain cap, but Armstrong does not believe that is likely. He added: ‘But if you are scoring goals, you are a danger and Soriano’s definitely got great pace and great technique. ‘If he gets in a one-on-one situation Celtic are in trouble. ‘But I’ve watched Celtic a few times this season and it seems to me they are improving all the time. ‘And if Celtic and Ronny Deila do their homework on Soriano, then I’m sure they will be fine and they will get the result they need to go through.’ Soriano will be setting his sights on Celtic on Thursday in their Europa League clash at Parkhead .
again with Red Bull Salzburg. The former Barca B Europa League at Parkhead on Thursday, can claim club level so far in 2014. Jonathan Soriano his level, and Cristiano Ronaldo he is not. is the only player to have scored more goals than Soriano will be setting his sights on Celtic on