5 most potent attacking lines in the top European leagues

While it is not the only way to win a football match, there is nothing quite like seeing an attacking team in full flow.

Europe is blessed with a number of terrific attacking sides this season, to such an extent that some of the best, such as Monaco and Borussia Dortmund do not even make this shortlist.

Indeed, of the five teams who are ranked, only one is the defending champion of their country, highlighting the fact that exciting football does not always guarantee results.

5. Napoli

They might not be Italy’s finest club, but they are set to make a challenge for the title this season thanks to a prodigious offensive line, led by the apparently unstoppable Dries Mertens.

Last term, Napoli scored an astonishing 94 goals in Serie A – more than any team in the division and 17 more than champions Juventus. They were, and remain, a thrilling attacking force.

Mertens is the man who best epitomises them. Over the course of the last year, he has gone goal crazy, finding the net at the rate of more than one-per-match since last November. Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon have proved fine foils.

Another serious knee injury to Arkadiusz Milik, his second in as many years, promises to cause them problems in terms of depth for the months ahead.

4. Manchester City

It is difficult to pin down exactly who is in Manchester City’s attacking line at the moment, such is the relish that Pep Guardiola’s side attack with. Indeed, their style is probably the most enterprising and exciting of all the teams in Europe at the moment, and it may well be that they rank higher in this category before the season is out.

Sergio Aguero remains their ace, but Gabriel Jesus has quickly established himself as one of the top players in the Premier League, too. With the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva feeding them bullets, it is little wonder the Citizens have scored 21 goals already this term.

With fine options all over the final third, there is unlikely to be any relent from the Etihad outfit, who are poised to threaten on all fronts this season.

3. Barcelona

After a wretched summer at Camp Nou, it has come as a surprise as to just how well Barcelona have adapted to life without Neymar. Sold to PSG for €222 million, the Catalan side lost the man they imagined was going to become the long-term replacement for Lionel Messi.

The board made a mess of trying to find a replacement but ultimately performed some good work to sign Ousmane Dembele, only to have that backfire as he sustained a nasty hamstring tear that will keep him out until Christmas.

Alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Barca look a light, with Gerard Deulofeu suddenly thrust into an important role.

Messi has shown himself to be perhaps the greatest player in the game currently by shouldering immense responsibility to net nine league goals already this season. It is a rate, however, that surely even the great Argentine cannot maintain.

2. Paris Saint-Germain

Although PSG boast the game’s most expensive forward line, including the lavish summer additions of Neymar (€222 million from Barcelona) and Kylian Mbappe (€160m after moving initially on loan from Monaco), they cannot yet claim to be the best.

Nevertheless, the signs for PSG are promising. After barely three weeks working together, they are scoring a rate of goals unmatched by any other side in Europe, with all of their forward three contributing both in terms of assists and putting the ball in the net.

Can this continue on a long-term basis, though? Cavani and Neymar will have to find a way to work together if they are going to win the Champions League, and that could be the major hurdle they have to overcome.

Nevertheless, the potential is there for PSG to become the best in the world, particularly because of the depth they boast with the likes of Angel Di Maria, Julian Draxler and Lucas Moura to call from the bench.

1. Real Madrid

Although it has been an awkward start to the season for Real Madrid’s forward players, they have the advantage of having a proven working unit, something that Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are still developing.

Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait until October for his first La Liga goal of the season for the first time since moving to Spain, though that has largely been about suspension rather than poor form on the Portuguese player’s part. He remains the game’s greatest all-round attacking force.

Equally, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have not had their problems to seek in the opening weeks of the season, but both will surely prove their world-class talents in the months ahead – that is if they can displace Sergio Asensio and Lucas Vazquez.