Greatest 10 attacks in Premier League History
Due to the success of English football since the introduction of the Premier League in 1992, many top attacking talents across Europe and beyond have moved to England in quest of playing for top clubs. This has led to an influx of quality in the league and, in the process, has produced some unbelievable attacking partnerships.
The Premier League is known across the planet for its end-to-end and frantic nature, providing viewers with entertaining and attacking football. This uniquely quick and physical transitional style that the Premier League has been branded upon for decades produces many goals.
With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT has taken a look at some of the best attacking partnerships that the Premier League has ever witnessed and selected the top 10 greatest attacks in the history of the division.
Ranking Factors
- Trophies won: Trophies won during their time together.
- Quality of combination: How well they combined as an attacking unit.
- Longevity: The length of time playing together.
- Legacy: How well revered the combination is in history.
Place 10: Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Philipe Coutinho (2013-2014)
Club: Liverpool
Beginning with one of the most formidable attacking quads the Premier League has ever witnessed, for a single season in the 2013/14 campaign, Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling, and Philippe Coutinho ran riot. Whether it was intricate combination play or a piece of individual brilliance, defenders could not live with the movement and intelligence of this frontline. Spearheading Liverpool so nearly to a title that season, Sterling played at the tip of the diamond, with Sturridge and Suarez ahead of him, while Coutinho would play deeper, but still contributing to the attacking play.
In that season, Sturridge was in the form of his life, contributing to 32 goals in 33 matches, while his strike teammate Suarez held a record of 46 contributions in 37 games. A 19-year-old Sterling recorded 19 contributions in 39, and Coutinho managed 13 in his 37 appearances. All in all, this combination was absolutely electric; however, with only a single season under their belt and no titles, they are unable to gain a higher ranking in this list.
Place 9:Â Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer (1994-1996)
Club: Blackburn Rovers
Another deadly attacking partnership that burnt bright in a short period of time, was the relationship between the duo Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer for Blackburn Rovers. For two seasons, the pair were an absolute menace up top, as they were a perfect blend of styles for each other and a nightmare for defenders. Winning the league title in the 1994-95 campaign, Sutton was the more unselfish of the two, dropping into deeper areas of the pitch to help link up play, while Shearer was the ruthless goalscorer in front of goal.
Though, Shearer also did provide a great outlet for Blackburn, often being used as a target man, holding the ball up for his side, and bringing others into play. Together, they were an almost unstoppable strike partnership, and when a ball was crossed into the penalty box, there was often a good chance one of the two would end up on the end of it.
Place 8:Â Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole (1998-2001)
Club: Manchester United
Another prolific striking duo that thrived in the 90s was the famous combination of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole for Manchester United. In their first season together, the pair scored 53 goals between them, winning the first-ever treble in English club football history, lifting the Premier League, FA Cup, and the Champions League. In their following two campaigns, the duo would again go on to achieve something never done before, helping Manchester United to win three Premier League trophies in a row.
This meant that in the three seasons the pair spent together, never did they not win a league title. This was down to the telepathic nature in which they understood each other’s game. Yorke’s ability to drop deeper in play and create opportunities for Cole, who had tremendous speed and movement, allowed the pair to develop a relationship that defenders could not stop.
Place 7: Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne (2022-Current)
Club: Manchester City
A current pairing that is terrifying defences in the Premier League is Manchester City’s star duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland. Winning the treble in their first campaign together, De Bruyne and Haaland’s relationship began instantaneously, with the Norwegian’s powerful and intelligent movement in behind being a dream for a passer like De Bruyne. Gifted with a natural ability to see and execute passes of any range or type, the Belgian can find Haaland’s runs in behind defenders.
Then once given the opportunity to find the net, the 6’4 forward will often dispatch the chance in devastating fashion. As both are widely considered the best in the world at their specific roles, De Bruyne being a playmaker and Haaland a goalscorer, these two on the same side can sometimes be undefendable for opposition defences.
Place 6: Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Dennis Berkgamp (2000-2006)
Club: Arsenal
A front four of superstars, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, and Dennis Bergkamp, spent six years together in North London, winning two Premier League titles and three FA Cups together. Playing under a master tactician in Arsene Wenger, the quartet would bamboozle opposition defences with their fluid movement and interchanging of positions. Due to the technical ability and versatility of all four, their understanding of each other’s movement was spellbinding at its best.
Henry, widely considered the greatest Premier League player of all time, possessed the raw pace, a touch of class, and ruthlessness in front of goal, while Bergkamp was the architect of the side, using his outrageous technical ability to glide across the pitch and slip in his teammates. In the wide channels, Pires would deliver top-quality service into the Arsenal forward line and carry the ball with flair, and Ljungberg was a hard-working, direct winger who could finish and was extremely versatile.
Place 5: Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba (2004-2012)
Club: Chelsea
A duo that petrified Premier League backlines for eight years, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard were a fierce attacking force. Together, the two formed a strong alliance, as Drogba’s strong and physical style of play pinned centrebacks, holding the ball up effectively with his phenomenal control. Lampard would then make runs beyond the centre forward into the box, at times playing as a second striker for the Blues.
Despite Lampard’s biggest strength being his late runs into the box and the goals he scored, sometimes his ability to create goals goes under the radar, as he would also often find Drogba with a creative pass. They combined 36 goals across their Chelsea careers, the second most of any duo in Premier League history.
Place 4: Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne (2016-2020)
Club: Manchester City
A formidable front four that played a crucial role in breaking the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, and Kevin De Bruyne are still considered the best attack Manchester City has ever produced. In the 2017/18 campaign, they accrued a staggering tally of 106 goals, averaging over two and a half goals a game. The creative heartbeat of the side, De Bruyne played the strings in the middle of the park, orchestrating his front line from deep and creating an abundance of chances for all three.
Sergio Aguero was tasked with the responsibility of scoring the lion’s share of goals, with the Argentine racking up 98 goal contributions in 113 Premier League games in the time they played together. Sterling was then the second most prolific goalscorer in the side, using his rapid speed and dribbling skill to take on fullbacks and his intelligence to pick up goals at the back post. Sane also contributed heavily but played a more creative role on the left flank, using his astonishing balance and speed to glide with the ball and create using his left foot.
Place 3: Heung Min Son and Harry Kane (2015-2023)
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Undoubtedly the greatest duo of all time to have never lifted a trophy, the relationship between Heung Min Son and Harry Kane was a truly special bond. The telepathic understanding that they both shared made Tottenham Hotspur a serious threat, especially during their embryonic years, being a whisker away from winning Spurs a Champions League final and a Premier League title.
Setting the record of 37 goals combined between them, the English and South Korean superstars were truly world-class in their primes. Despite being a prolific goalscorer, Kane’s unique ability to drop deeper in play to pick up the ball and use his passing range to pick out Son’s intelligent bursting runs in behind was a problem that not many defences had an answer for. Whether it was Son cutting back to Kane from a dazzling run or Kane finding Son’s run in behind, the pairing understood each other’s game like no other.
Place 2: Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane (2017-2022)
Club: Liverpool
Closely contesting as the greatest attacking partnership of all-time, during a five year period, Liverpool possessed the most electrifying and devastating frontline in world football. This front three led Liverpool to every club trophy available to them, scoring a ridiculous amount of goals in the process. Roberto Firmino, seen as the facilitator of both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, played a vital role in this attacking trio, dropping into deeper pockets and using his fantastic feet to wiggle his way out of tight situations. The space that he would vacate, would allow both Mane and Salah to make incisive runs across the backline into central areas, causing headaches for opposition defenders.
Mane possessed frightening speed off the left flank, and when the Senegalese forward clicked into gear, he was impossible to keep up with. Despite being slightly more erratic in front of goal between him and Salah, he often popped up with vital goals for the Reds, and had unbelievable technical ability to shift the ball away from defenders. Then of course, there is Salah, who was the talisman of the side, contributing to 164 goals in 180 Premier League matches while this combination functioned. The Egyptian’s speed, skill, clinical finishing and intelligent movement earned him 20+ goals in four of the five seasons between this frontline, with his lowest goalscoring return in a Premier League season being 19.
Place 1: Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo (2007-2009)
Club: Manchester United
Considered by many as the greatest attacking lineup ever assembled, between the years of 2007 and 2009, Manchester United attained a front three of Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Possessing unbelievable levels of individual and collective quality, this frontline had absolutely everything. Wayne Rooney was the glue of the frontline, playing the unselfish role, dropping deeper, and playing as an aggressive forward out of possession. Likewise, Tevez was also what Gary Neville described once as a ‘street fighter,’ scrapping for possession without the ball while attaining superb technical quality with the ball and raw physicality and pace.
However, the perfect piece to the jigsaw of this front three was legendary Portuguese marksman Cristiano Ronaldo, who dazzled the Premier League with his stunning footwork and ball-striking abilities. While not the hard worker off the ball of the other two he played alongside, his desire to win and score goals, combined with his freakish ability, was what set him apart. In 2007/08, Ronaldo would manage the first of five Ballon d’Or wins, scoring 42 goals and assisting eight in 49 matches, one of the best individual seasons ever witnessed in the Premier League.
