Top 5 attacking trios in Europe this season

Football is all about scoring goals to defeat the opposition. With some great attacking players across Europe, we profile 5 of the best attacking trios this coming season.

#1 Real Madrid - BBC: Benzema, Bale and Cristiano

The deadly trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are arguaby the best attacking unit in the world as they shared the most number of goals among them.

The Los Blancos strike trio has great finishing ability, strong purposeful running, and the intelligence to link up with each other beautifully. Their tally of 97 goals was instrumental in helping Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey and the coveted 10th Champions League victory, the La Decima.

Ronaldo, the top scorer for the team scored 51 goals and gave 13 assists. His goals were evenly distributed: 31 in La Liga, 17 in Champions League and three in Copa Del Rey and he was pivotal to Real’s domination. The Frenchman Benzema, who had never been a fan favourite, scored 24 goals last season and was able to set-up 14 more. The Welshman Bale completed a dream debut season with Real Madrid and finished with a tally of 22 goals and 16 assists.

With Real looking to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League in the modern day, this trio will be very crucial to their hopes in the coming season.

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#2 Barcelona - MSN: Messi, Neymar and Suarez

The signing of Luis Suarez means that now Barcelona has one of the best forward lines among all football clubs. The Uruguayan can play as a central striker, and his intelligence and dribbling abilities will mesh in nicely with those of Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Although Neymar did not have a very great debut season in Spain (16 goals and 11 assists), his performances at the World Cup and Brazil’s dependance on him showed how good he can really be, and that is of great encouragement to the Barcelona fans. The Brazilian probably has his position fixed on the Catalans’ left wing going forward, the same position where he produced his best play for Brazil.

Suarez offers Barcelona the opportunity of playing with a proper striker, but his running with the ball, and link-up play also affords them the option of playing him on either flank. His finishing will definitely help add to Barcelona’s killer instinct in front of goal (31 goals and 13 assists), and also increase the competitive edge.

Lionel Messi has been prolific both in terms of scoring goals (41) and providing assists (16), and has shown that he can play both as a false 9 or on the right of the attack. The presence of two other flexible forwards can help them dovetail effectively, and bring different attacking threats depending on the situation.

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#3 Chelsea - Hazard, Costa and Oscar

Chelsea had a good season last year, which was the first of Jose Mourinho’s second spell at the club. The West Londoners were able to develop a style of football that put emphasis on skill, the ability to interchange positions and purpose from the attacking midfielders. What the club lacked though, which ultimately cost them the League title was a striker who could finish. Though they did have Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o, both of them are nowhere close to their best, and could not provide the quality necessary.

The Spanish International Diego Costa has been brought in after he scored 36 goals in 54 appearances last season for Atletico Madrid, and he brings in some much needed directness to the Chelsea attack. His biggest plus point is that he can mix it up i.e. he can use his size and strength to hold up play, and also use his pace and finishing to get on the end of passes.

Eden Hazard, an attacking winger, who had a breakthrough season last year, can change the game with his pace and dribbling and is expected to further improve this year (18 goals and 10 assists). The Belgian is probably the best winger in the Premier League, and playing with Costa will help him get more opportunities to score.

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Oscar is another attacking midfielder who despite having a good season with Chelsea (14 goals and 6 assists), faded away come the end of the season. He was an important player for Brazil at the World Cup, and impressed everyone with his endeavour and vision. He will welcome the addition of the Spaniard Costa, and will look to consolidate his promising career with Chelsea.

Chelsea will defnitely be a very fluent team going forward this season, and as the pre-season might have indicated, they have exhibited some great attacking football. These three players will be crucial to Chelsea’s bid for silverware this season.

#4 Manchester United - Robin van Persie, Rooney and Juan Mata

Louis van Gaal’s 3-4-1-2 formation is designed to get the maximum out of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata, as each of them are allowed to play in their favoured positions, and so will be able to exert most influence on the game.

After a great beginning, van Persie had a not so great year last season, as he was suffering form injuries, and so could contribute in only a limited manner. He was able to score 18 goals, and help create 3 more, but his influence was nothing compared to the previous season. After a great World Cup campaign, he will now be hoping to kick on, and will surely be helped by the presence of his former national team manager at Old Trafford.

Rooney did have a good season, as he scored 19 goals and gave 17 assists. He had a disappointing World Cup campaign, and with him now being awarded the captaincy, he will be looking to make his mark.

Juan Mata is well-known for creating space for his team-mates with his movement and is an incisive passer of the ball. With him now playing in his preferred no 10 role, he would be looking forward to the season with great relish.

The club are looking to bounce back into title contention this year, and this trio will be instrumental in making that happen.

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#5 Bayern Munich - Robben, Lewandowski and Ribery

These three players could possibly form one of best trios in European football this season. Lewandowski is considered to be the missing piece in the Bayern Munich jigsaw, and is touted to the player who helps Pep Guardiola achieve continental success as Bayern Munich manager.

His finishing and pace will provide some much needed thrust to the Bayern Munich attack, and he is probably one of the most complete strikers (28 goals and 8 assists) in world football currently.

Robbin, well known for his direct running and dribbling will enjoy playing with Lewandowski, as the Pole’s adaptability will help him dovetail and also get into goal scoring positions (21 goals and 16 assists). He had a great season at Munich, and a great World Cup, and will be looking to continue in the same vein.

Frank Ribery completes the trio with his key passing and purposeful running and provides solidiity to the frontline, thus making it a deadly trio. His two footedness, and scoring ability add to the qualities of the other two. Althought he missed the World Cup, he would be looking to kick on this season.

Bayern Munich were touted to be the best team in Europe last season, and after their abject defeat to Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Champions League, they will be looking to go the distance this year. These 3 will be crucial to any hopes of achieving European domination that they harbour.

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