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Football is a team sport and a team is built on chemistry and understanding between the players. Sometimes a player might come along who can bring out the best in his teammates. We have seen so many of these double-acts or partnerships in recent times.
Luis Suarez-Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney-Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres-Steven Gerrard are a few examples of incredibly effective attacking partnerships. In recent times, we've seen the emergence of quite a few effective attacking triumvirates.
But attacking partnerships are still very much in vogue. It's quite sad that two of the finest attacking partnerships from the 2020-21 season have been broken up. Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho were a formidable duo but the latter has now joined Manchester United.
Similar is the case with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. The duo led from the front in Inter Milan's Serie A triumph last season, but Lukaku has now joined Chelsea on a deal worth €115 million.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best attacking partnerships in football right now.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo-Federico Chiesa (Juventus)
Even at the age of 36, Cristiano Ronaldo is going strong. He keeps surprising us with his athleticism and goalscoring ability. Ronaldo won the Serie A Golden Boot in the 2020-21 season after scoring 29 goals in 33 matches.
Despite Juventus' midfielders having a torrid campaign, the team managed to qualify for the Champions League and win the Coppa Italia as well. Much of the credit for that should go to the partnership that Ronaldo was able to strike with Federico Chiesa.
The former Fiorentina winger was a livewire for his club in 2020-21. He scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for Juventus. Chiesa complements Ronaldo pretty well and the duo share a good connection on the football field.
They have even done Cristiano Ronaldo's famous 'Siuuu' celebration together. It looks like we'll see a lot more good football from this duo after they combined to set up Dybala for a stunning counterattacking goal last night against Atalanta.
#4 Mohamed Salah-Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
If we had put this list together a year back, the Liverpool duo of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane would have been higher up the list. However, Mane had a rather underwhelming 2020-21 campaign but still showcased enough quality to earn a place on the list.
Prior to the 2020-21 season, Salah and Mane looked unstoppable. The duo, combined with Firmino who also had a poor 2020-21 campaign, ran riot in Europe and in the Premier League. Their exploits were central to Liverpool's UEFA Champions League win in the 2018-19 season and their Premier League triumph in 2019-20.
Mohamed Salah finished second in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2020-21 season. He scored 22 goals in 37 Premier League appearances. In 51 matches across all competitions in the 2020-21 campaign, Salah scored 31 goals.
Sadio Mane scored 16 goals and provided nine assists in 48 appearances across all competitions this past season. The duo shared the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2018-19 season with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. All three players scored 22 goals each in the league that season.
#3 Harry Kane-Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur)
It all started well for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2020-21 season. It looked like things were falling into place for Jose Mourinho's side as Son and Kane got Spurs off to a flying start in the Premier League. The duo shared a telepathic connection on the field and seemed to be scoring and assisting for fun.
However, a dip in the duo's form halfway through the season derailed Spurs' campaign. Left with a side that displayed no redeeming qualities, Mourinho was eventually sacked as well. But the Harry Kane-Son Heun Min partnership is here to stay.
The Englishman scored a whopping 33 goals and provided 17 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions for the Lilywhites. He also won the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award in the Premier League for most goals scored and most assists provided respectively.
Son scored 22 goals and provided 17 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2020-21 season. When they are on song, they are among the most difficult players to contain or silence on a football pitch.
#2 Kylian Mbappe/Lionel Messi-Neymar Jr. (Paris Saint-Germain)
We've decided to include all three because we don't know which one's going to pop this season. It could very well be a triumvirate but we're well aware of what Lionel Messi and Neymar can do together. We've seen plenty of that at Barcelona.
Alongside Luis Suarez, Messi and Neymar formed arguably the greatest attacking trio in modern football. At PSG, they will have a prime Kylian Mbappe instead of Suarez. Neymar missed a chunk of the 2020-21 season through injury. He still managed to score 17 goals and provide 11 assists in 31 appearances across all competitions.
His partnership with Mbappe was crucial to PSG slaying European giants like Barcelona and Bayern Munich on their way to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Mbappe had an excellent 2020-21 campaign at an individual level. He scored 42 goals and provided 11 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions. With Messi also added to the mix, those numbers are expected to get even better.
#1 Robert Lewandowski-Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Robert Lewandowski is, without doubt, one of the greatest strikers of the modern era. He has been extremely prolific in front of goal over the past few seasons and it just wouldn't be the same without his partner Thomas Muller.
Muller, the self-styled 'Raumdeuter' or interpreter of space, plays as a second striker or an attacking midfielder for the Bavarians. He is one of the most intelligent players in the world and his movements are top-notch.
Muller keeps popping up in tiny pockets of space in and around the area and he also helps create space for Lewandowski by taking defenders away with him. This partnership works wonders up front for Bayern Munich.
Lewandowski beat Gerd Muller's record for the most goals scored in a 38-game Bundesliga season by scoring 41 goals in 27 top-flight matches this past term. He finished the season with a tally of 48 goals and nine assists from 40 appearances across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Thomas Muller scored 15 goals and provided a whopping 24 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich in 2020-21.
