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Barcelona have borne witness to a few of the most prolific and devastating attacking trios in soccer historical past.
Pep Guardiola’s Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto ran riot on their solution to the treble in 2008/09 and had been adopted up with one other Champions League-winning trident of David Villa, Messi and Pedro in 2010/11.
Then in fact, got here arguably essentially the most devastating trio the sport has ever seen in Messi-Suarez-Neymar or ‘MSN’ as they had been feared, unleashed by Luis Enrique.
After three years of unbridled chemistry and bucket a great deal of targets and particular moments together with one other treble for the membership’s historical past books, Neymar left the membership in 2017 for Paris Saint-Germain, leaving Messi and Luis Suarez behind.
As we now have come to realize it, that was the final of the wonderful trios that Barcelona had seen. Properly, the final one till Hansi Flick got here alongside and gave the followers a cause to be excited.
Aside from the scintillating model of soccer Barcelona have performed this season, Flick should be credited with getting the best possible out of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha as a unit.
Barcelona have scored a ton of targets in solely a handful of video games, blowing groups away at will and this newly-assembled trio has been an enormous cause for the crew’s blistering firepower.
As defences proceed to ponder, what’s the secret behind Europe’s most potent attacking unit?
An entire trio
Lewandowski, Raphinha and Yamal have been improbable. (Picture by Angel Martinez/Getty Pictures)
Barcelona’s present entrance three’s ridiculous effectivity isn’t a coincidence. Neither it’s something like those we now have seen earlier than play for the garnet-and-blue.
The trio of Lewandowski, Yamal and Raphinha are profiles which might be seamlessly complimentary to that of the opposite.
Lamine Yamal, at mere 17 years of age, holds the keys to creativity within the crew. Be it to prise open a low-block or take a swipe and dribble by the defences of some huge groups and put some esteemed defenders to disgrace.
Raphinha runs and boy does he run rather a lot. If Yamal creates, then Raphinha is the person who seems to get on the finish of these probabilities.
His motion is extremely sharp and his eagerness to get into goalscoring positions has boosted his offensive numbers sky-high and at a ridiculous price.
Aside from his motion, Raphinha has matured right into a artistic power as nicely, supplementing the wonderkid from the left together with his most potent weapon, crossing.
To not overlook, how immensely clutch his objective contributions have proved to be this season. With the armband on his sleeve, captain Raphinha is a real chief and borderline unstoppable.
Then comes Robert Lewandowski the veteran and goal man of this attacking unit. Via his innate understanding of positioning, the Pole provides a stationary risk to the opposition.
His place at instances occupies the central defenders, offering area and time to the havoc-wreakers on both aspect of him, or he may drop to hold-up play and maintain assault within the opponent’s half earlier than laying it off to his artistic generals.
All of this, with out mentioning his menacing goalscoring prowess has as soon as once more proven in these three months of 2024/25 up to now.
As we now have all come to see this season, this profiling works like a well-oiled machine for Barcelona. Clearly outlined roles for every of those three present completely different arenas of assault, leaving the opposition dumbfounded, not realizing what hit them.
For reference, the ‘MSN’ trio flourished due to their excellent particular person capability and inexplicable telepathic chemistry which prolonged off the sphere too. Their success was not essentially all the way down to the system or the ‘roles’ they had been assigned.
Flick’s trident is system-oriented, and fortunately he has one of the best gamers for the dynamics up-front for it to work prefer it does.
It additionally means ought to Barcelona have the ability to signal high quality deputies and if the squad be hit with an damage storm, Flick’s attacking rules ought to proceed to blow away groups unchecked.
However for now, Barcelona have essentially the most feared trio on the earth, and the numbers communicate for themselves too.
A statistical perspective
Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski are one of the best attacking gamers proper now. (Picture by MANAURE QUINTERO/AFP through Getty Pictures)
Barcelona’s notorious objective tally has hit ridiculous heights this season.
For starters, 40 targets in 13 LaLiga video games is the second-highest within the membership’s complete historical past with 42 essentially the most scored at this stage of the league method again within the 1950/51 season.
Nonetheless, this document doesn’t appear to face an opportunity towards the one the crew achieved after a 5-2 drubbing of Pink Star Belgrade within the Champions League, the place they gathered a whopping 55 targets in simply 16 video games into the season, essentially the most within the membership’s historical past.
Averaging greater than three targets a sport, this Barcelona crew packs some critical firepower and their attacking unit’s numbers have an enormous hand in that.
Yamal has a complete of 14 G/A (targets+assists) – 6 targets and eight assists – in simply 16 video games throughout all competitions this season. He has already surpassed his numbers from the whole thing of the earlier marketing campaign.
However everyone knows how his sport transcends mere numbers, don’t we?
The teenager averages three profitable take-ons per sport, discovering himself within the 91st percentile of wingers whereas registering himself within the 94th percentile for assists and the 86th for Progressive Carries highlighting the protagonism of the wonderkid in Barcelona’s assault.
Raphinha is placing up some strong numbers too. With 20 objective contributions – 12 targets and 10 assists – in 17 video games, the Brazilian has been certainly one ofone of the best forwards in Europe this season.
His statistics show how a lot of a difference-maker he’s on this Barcelona aspect.
Raphinha finds himself within the 99th percentile for assists and is miles clear as nicely in terms of anticipated targets and assists, a results of his elevated goalscoring acumen and enhanced creativity.
However in terms of placing balls into the again of the web, there’s merely nobody higher than Lewandowski. The Pole has blasted 19 targets in simply 17 video games this season and continues to set the tempo in Spain and Europe even on the age of 36.
Joint-top scorer within the Champions League with 5 targets to his title, main the race for the Pichichi trophy with 14 targets scored in 12 LaLiga video games, it’s honest to say Lewandowski is reborn beneath Hansi Flick.
There are some key stats too that assist this rejuvenation.
Lewandowski finds himself within the 93rd percentile for anticipated targets and assists competing with the likes of Harry Kane and Erling Haaland and even main them in metrics of objective scored. Discuss longevity.
To compile these numbers, the trio alone accounts for a large 74% of the targets scored by the crew with 37 targets shared between the three out of the 55 the crew has scored.
That’s with out even factoring within the assists the entrance line has offered this season. Who’s stopping them then?
The decision
There isn’t a stopping Yamal, Lewandowski and Raphinha. (Picture by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Pictures)
This Barcelona entrance line is blowing away groups at will and scoring targets for enjoyable and judging by their efficiency, opposition defences should be sick by the sight of them.
Objectives scored galore and but whenever you add Dani Olmo because the quantity 10 to the combo, the trio turns into considerably of a improbable 4, inflicting nightmares upon anybody who dare to cease them.
As compared, the lethality of Lewandowski, Yamal and Raphinha has proved to be unstoppable when it was their rivals Actual Madrid’s galactico unit of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo who had been anticipated to run European defences ragged.
That take has soured like grapes doesn’t it? An fascinating truth emerges whenever you have in mind the phases of the profession these gamers discover themselves in.
Yamal, at 17, is beginning to make his mark on the sport. Raphinha at 27 is hitting his prime. And Robert Lewandowski is on the tail-end of his profession at 36.
Every of them is a decade other than the opposite, with completely different ranges of knowledge and maturity, nevertheless wreaking havoc in tandem for all who come could.
Three improbable gamers. An absurdly full trio. Make no mistake about it, their dominance is what has primed this crew for an actual shot at glory.
