The 18 Most Prolific Attacking Partnerships in Europe's Top 5 Leagues This Season
By Ben Carter
Every great superhero needs a sidekick, and that's also true with European football's top strikers.
There's only a select few players who steal the limelight every week thanks to the sheer number of times they find the back of the net, but for every goal that's scored, there's almost always another player topping up their tally of assists too.
Europe's best goalscorers often rely on one or two of their teammates to spoon feed them the majority of their strikes, creating some incredibly surprising (as well as blatantly obvious) partnerships we watch week in, week out.
But before we get underway, let's all be sure about what we're looking at.
These aren't based off combined goals and assists between two players, so using the Eredivisie as an example, although AZ Alkmaar's Myron Boadu and Ousamma Idrissi have been directly involved in 27 separate goals, Boadu has only assisted Idrissi six times this season - and we're looking at the latter.
Serge Gnabry to Robert Lewandowski (4)
It will be little surprise to see Lewandowski feature on this list, and it won't come as a shock that the Poland international pops up later on either.
Keita Baldé Diao to Wissam Ben Yedder (4)
Monaco have had a season to forget in Ligue 1, but striker Wissam Ben Yedder has been a shining light for the club and sits level at the top of France's goalscoring chart.
More than 22 per cent of Ben Yedder's goals in Ligue 1 have been set up by Keita Baldé Diao.
Daniel James to Marcus Rashford (4)
Things haven't exactly fallen into place under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but Marcus Rahsford's partnership with Daniel James - especially on the counter attack - has been a big plus for Manchester United.
Luis Alberto to Joaquin Correa (4)
The Serie A hasn't had a title race in a few years, but the creativity of Lazio's Luis Alberto has been key in this season's fascinating battle for the Scudetto.
Philipp Max to Florian Niederlechner (4)
The key to success for Augsburg really is quite simple. Get Philipp Max tacking set pieces and aim every cross towards Florian Niederlechner.
Rodrigo Bentancur to Cristiano Ronaldo (4)
Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of Europe's top goalscorers for a generation, but his partnership with Uruguay international Rodrigo Bentancur might be one of the most surprising.
Lucas Olaza to Iago Aspas (4)
Four of Lucas Olaza's five assists this season have been to set up Iago Aspas, Celta Vigo's top goalscorer by quite some distance.
Luis Alberto to Ciro Immobile (4)
It was Bayern Munich's Lewandowski who's received the most attention this season, but before the Bundesliga's restart, Ciro Immobile was actually the top goalscorer across Europe.
Emi Buendía to Teemu Pukki (4)
It looks like the Premier League dream will end for Norwich City, but thanks to Emi Buendía and Teemu Pukki, their one season back in the top flight has been a very, very memorable one.
Lionel Messi to Luis Suárez (4)
It might not seem like an impressive partnership considering they're on par with Norwich City and Celta Vigo, but Luis Suárez has missed a large chunk of the season through injury.
Christopher Nkunku to Timo Werner (5)
Timo Werner's been getting all sorts of attention this season, but it's been new signing Christopher Nkunku who's helped the most with the Germany international's goalscoring record.
Paulo Dybala to Cristiano Ronaldo (5)
Ronaldo's on-field relationship with Bentancur might be a surprise, but this one certainly isn't.
Christopher Trimmel to Sebastian Andersson (5)
They're players you probably hadn't heard of before this season, but Union Berlin's two star players have been essential in their fight to avoid relegation.
Adama Traoré to Raúl Jiménez (5)
Wolves have been able to throw themselves into the mix for Champions League qualification thanks to a few different factors, and although they're certainly not a one trick pony, Adama Traoré's relationship with Raúl Jiménez has been crucial.
Ángel Di María to Kylian Mbappé (6)
It's not Paris Saint-Germain's most high-profile attacking partnership, but Kylian Mbappé has Ángel Di María to thank for half a dozen of his goals in Ligue 1.
Thomas Müller to Robert Lewandowski (6)
Lewandowski's targeting a new personal best in the Bundesliga this season and he's only three goals off his all-time best of 30, so he'll be looking towards Thomas Müller to help get him over the line before the end of the campaign.
Neymar to Kylian Mbappé (6)
Two-thirds of Mbappé's 18 goals in Ligue 1 this season have been set up by Neymar or Di María.
Kevin De Bruyne to Sergio Agüero (6)
Kevin De Bruyne's tally of six assists for Sergio Agüero alone has already eclipsed what they managed during the entirety of the 2017/18 Premier League season for Manchester City.