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“Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.” - George S. Patton.The quote mentioned above might make one cringe, but it turns out to be true more than often. It may blow your mind away if you’re from Jose Mourinho’s school of thought where scoring one goal to win the match is considered very good. However, even the Special One can’t deny that you do need to score goals, sometimes a lot of them in order to win games. Be it the famous Real Madrid side of the 50’s or Pep Guardiola’s all conquering Barcelona side of 2009, all these sides were ruthless in front of the goal and this made them the best sides of their generation. So here are the best attacking sides of the season so far, who have been pumping goals past their opposition, whoever they may be.Stats taken from http://www.tablesleague.com
#1 Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid is playing at another level this season. Their offense has blown away the best of defences this season, including the Barcelona defence, who had conceded no goals in La Liga up until their match against Real.
The Cristiano Ronaldo led attack has been impossible to contain. They just turn on the training ground mode and start toying with the opposition defenders. After all, this is what you expect from an attack comprising of James Rodriguez, Isco, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, don’t you?
It is solely due to their menacing forwards that Real have toppled Barca off the top of the league table. Barcelona were riding high on the success of their solid backline but Los Blancos just proved once and for all that the offense is definitely the best form of defense. Don’t believe me? Have a look for yourself.
La Liga: 1stChampions League Group B: 1st
| Total | % | Home | % | Away | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 16 | - | 8 | 0.5 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Wins | 14 | 87.5% | 7 | 87.5% | 7 | 87.5% |
| Draws | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lost | 2 | 12.5% | 1 | 12.5% | 1 | 12.5% |
| Goals For | 57 | 3.56 | 27 | 3.38 | 30 | 3.75 |
| Goals Against | 14 | 0.88 | 6 | 0.75 | 8 | 1 |
| Clean sheets | 7 | 44% | 3 | 38% | 4 | 50% |
| Avg minutes per Goal Scored | 47' | - | 47' | - | 46' | - |
| Avg minutes per Goals Conceded | 54' | - | 31' | - | 47' | - |
#2 PSV Eindhoven
It might come as a shock to many but not for those who follow Dutch football very closely. Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven are making good use of having a stable squad this season in the Eredivisie. The Boeren are taking the opportunity with their both the hands as both of their title rivals, Feyenoord and Ajax have been weakened considerably this season due to the departures of key players.
Memphis Depay has been their best player so far this season, despite having missed a month due to injury. The 20 year old is the creative fulcrum of this PSV side. Philippe Cocu has introduced a more lucid and attacking version of Total Football, which has made PSV the team to beat in Eredivisie this season.
Eredivisie: 1stEuropa League Group E: 2nd
| Total | % | Home | % | Away | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 22 | - | 11 | 0.5 | 11 | 0.5 |
| Wins | 18 | 81.8% | 10 | 90.9% | 8 | 72.7% |
| Draws | 1 | 45.5% | 1 | 90.9% | 0 | 0 |
| Lost | 3 | 13.6% | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27.2% |
| Goals For | 52 | 2.36 | 25 | 2.27 | 27 | 2.45 |
| Goals Against | 16 | 0.73 | 2 | 0.18 | 14 | 1.27 |
| Clean sheets | 10 | 45% | 9 | 82% | 1 | 9% |
| Avg minutes per Goal Scored | 50' | - | 45' | - | 56' | - |
| Avg minutes per Goals Conceded | 53' | - | 59' | - | 53' | - |
#3 FC Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have always been associated with attacking football, which was taken to another level by Jupp Heynckes in 2013. If that wasn’t enough, the Bavarian club’s board went a notch further when they selected Pep Guardiola to be his successor, as the Spaniard is famously known for his brand of attacking football.
Bayern at the moment are way above other teams in the Bundesliga. The points gap may show that only four points separate them and Wolfsburg, but the gulf in class is as wide as the Grand Canyon. The signing of Robert Lewandowski has given the Bayern Munich attack a lot more directness, helped improve their passing game and made them ruthless in front of goal.
They are even more lethal in Europe as they are brushing their opponents away in the Champions League with comfortable ease.
Bundesliga: 1stChampions League Group E: 1st
| Total | % | Home | % | Away | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 17 | - | 8 | 0.47 | 8 | 0.52 |
| Wins | 14 | 82.3% | 7 | 100% | 7 | 66.4% |
| Draws | 3 | 17.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33.3 |
| Lost | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals For | 45 | 2.65 | 23 | 2.88 | 22 | 2.75 |
| Goals Against | 6 | 0.35 | 2 | 0.22 | 4 | 0.44 |
| Clean sheets | 11 | 65% | 6 | 75% | 5 | 56% |
| Avg minutes per Goal Scored | 46' | - | 51' | - | 42' | - |
| Avg minutes per Goals Conceded | 52' | - | 42' | - | 76' | - |
#4 Chelsea FC
They have taken the Premier League by storm this season. The current Chelsea team is totally different from what they were exactly a year ago. A Jose Mourinho team playing free flowing, attacking, breathtaking football is a very rare occurence.
Diego Costa’s killer instincts, along with Cesc Fabregas’ vision and Eden Hazard’s brilliance are the pillars of this Chelsea side, who are slowly but steadily running away with the league. The fullbacks Cesar Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic have made very good contributions going forward, and are making overlapping forward runs and getting involved in the build up play, which is so un-Chelseaesque.
A bit of defensive solidity has been sacrificed for the sake of ‘beautiful football’, but it is absolutely worth it when you’re four points better off than the next best team in the land.
| Total | % | Home | % | Away | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 17 | - | 8 | 0.47 | 8 | 0.52 |
| Wins | 13 | 76.5% | 7 | 87.5% | 6 | 66.6% |
| Draws | 4 | 23.5 | 1 | 12.5 | 3 | 33.3 |
| Lost | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals For | 41 | 2.41 | 22 | 2.75 | 19 | 2.38 |
| Goals Against | 15 | 0.88 | 5 | 0.56 | 10 | 1.11 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 29% | 4 | 50% | 1 | 11% |
| Avg minutes per Goal Scored | 49' | - | 51' | - | 46' | - |
| Avg minutes per Goals Conceded | 53' | - | 60' | - | 61' | - |
#5 FC Barcelona
Barcelona had one of their worst seasons in recent history under Tata Martino in 2012-13 when they were completely outfoxed in each and every department on the pitch. A change of management has restored the status-quo to a certain degree, though there is still a lot to be done.
Luis Enrique is someone who knows this club’s DNA in and out. Although this season the Blaugrana have been in the news for their defensive solidity, their attack led by Lionel Messi and Neymar is certainly on par with the some of the best attacks across Europe. And, mind you, Luis Suarez has not featured prominently for the Catalan club this season due to his suspension.
They have managed to score 33 goals this season, which is commendable.
La Liga: 2ndChampions League Group F: 2nd
| Total | % | Home | % | Away | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 15 | - | 7 | 0.47 | 8 | 0.53 |
| Wins | 11 | 73.3% | 6 | 85.7% | 5 | 62.5% |
| Draws | 1 | 6.7% | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12.5% |
| Lost | 3 | 20% | 1 | 14.4% | 2 | 25% |
| Goals For | 33 | 2.2 | 18 | 2.57 | 15 | 2.14 |
| Goals Against | 9 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.25 | 7 | 0.88 |
| Clean sheets | 10 | 67% | 5 | 71% | 5 | 62% |
| Avg minutes per Goal Scored | 53' | - | 55' | - | 51' | - |
| Avg minutes per Goals Conceded | 53' | - | 72' | - | 39' | - |
