Who are the best attacking trios in Premier League history?
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We look back at some of the top-flight’s best front threes
Liverpool may have to wait a while, but they’ll almostcertainly be crowned Premier League champions for the first time in the comingmonths.
If and when that happens, it will have been a real teameffort. The additions of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk have transformed theirbackline, they arguably have the best full-back pairing around and the midfieldhave been relentless.
And at the top end of the pitch, they have a sensational attacking trio in Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. But how do those three compare to the best trios in Premier League history?
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
We start with that Liverpool trio, who seem to suit eachother’s game perfectly. Roberto Firmino may not be the most natural goalscorer,but his energy and skill knit Liverpool’s play together in the final third.
He forces errors with his constant pressing and his smart movementopens space for his teammates to exploit.
There are few, if any, better left wingers than Sadio Mane at the moment, while Mo Salah has grown into one of the best goalscorers in the world in his time at Anfield.
Liverpool’s midfielders don’t chip in with too many goals, but when their attack is this effective, they don’t really need to.
Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
The figures speak for themselves with this three. During2017/18, Manchester City smashed plenty of Premier League records on their wayto the title.
They racked up the most points of any side (103), the mostwins in a single season (32), most away wins (16), most consecutive wins (18),and most importantly in this discussion, the most goals (106).
They may lose some of those to Liverpool when this season finishes, but the link-up between their three attacking stars was incredible.
So many of their goals came from either Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling getting to the byline and cutting the ball back to one of their teammates to finish from close range. Opponents knew exactly what City wanted to do, they were just powerless to stop them.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney (ManchesterUnited)
There are some who believe that the 2007/08 vintage was SirAlex Ferguson’s best Manchester United team, and a huge reason for that wastheir electric front three.
In theory, Carlos Tevez started in the middle, withCristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to either side of him. But in practice, itwas much more fluid, with the trio constantly interchanging and making italmost impossible for defenders to track them.
Rooney and Tevez were two of the best strikers of theirgeneration, but this was the year that Ronaldo really took his game to a newlevel. He scored 31 league goals and won the Ballon d’Or for the first time.
With these three spearheading the attack, United won theleague and beat Chelsea on penalties to win the Champions League.
Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka weren’t as spectacular asEden Hazard in wide areas for the Blues, but they were perfect for this set-up.Between the three of them, Chelsea’s attack had a bit of everything – speed,power, creativity, clinical finishing and real grit.
Chelsea scored a then-record of 103 league goals under CarloAncelotti in 2009/10 with these three providing the firepower.
While they pinned defences back, it also left room for Frank Lampard to flourish. The current Chelsea boss scored 22 league goals in 2009/10. Not only was that his best tally during a single season, it’s the most goals ever scored by a midfielder in a Premier League campaign.
So there you have it, we’ve chosen four contenders – who would you crown as the best attacking trio in Premier League history?
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
