Top 10 Winger-Striker Partnerships

jonjoward1998
1 day ago
7 min read

I did midfielder-striker partnerships last week and this week I've decided to do another partnership that doesn't get mentioned a lot in a partnership between a winger and a striker.

Winger and striker partnerships are more common these days because they now play closer together than they did about 15 years ago as the majority of teams these days now play a 4-3-3 formation, which enable the wingers to play closer to the striker than they did when playing a 4-4-2.

The roles of both positions have changed a lot in recent years as wingers are known more these days as inside forwards and are asked to cut inside more.

Strikers meanwhile are now being asked to be in more involved in their team's build-up play and do more without the ball as well as score goals.

Wingers most of the time are the providers for the strikers but in recent years it has at times been the other way round in the strikers being the providers for the winger which happens by the striker dropping deep and freeing up some space for the winger to run into. This has happened because of the roles of both positions changing.

The partnerships in the list are a mixture of wingers getting balls into the box for the strikers and and wingers and strikers providing assists for one another.

Now here is the list:

Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney

Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy

Nolberto Solano and Alan Shearer

Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero

Heung Min Son and Harry Kane

Robert Pires and Thierry Henry

Darren Anderton and Teddy Sheringham

Ryan Giggs and Andy Cole

Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero

Sterling and Aguero spent six seasons together at Man City but didn't combine for many goals as they combined just 11 times.

They still had a partnership on the pitch during their time together as Sterling would always look for Aguero when getting crosses into the box and Aguero would feed the ball to Sterling when he ran beyond him.

They achieved a lot of success during their time together at City including three Premier League titles and they both played a key part in two of them including the Centurions season.

But I had to have them down in tenth because they didn't combine for many goals and didn't have as much of a productive partnership as the other duos on the list did.

Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy

Mahrez and Vardy had a very good partnership during their time together at Leicester and especially during the Foxes' title winning season in 2016.

Their partnership and telepathic relationship on the pitch played a key role for the Foxes that season as Mahrez always knew where Vardy was on the pitch and when he was ready to make a run into the final third.

Both players created chances for one another throughout that season, but Mahrez was mostly the provider because of his creativity and ability to pick out passes for Vardy to run onto.

Their link up play became a key part of how the Foxes played during that title winning season as Mahrez was always looking to play that ball over the top for Vardy to run onto because of the pace Vardy had to run in behind.

They kept up their partnership for the rest of their time together at Leicester and it continued to be effective.

Ryan Giggs and Andy Cole

Giggs and Cole had a productive partnership when they played together at Man United as Giggs would regularly get crosses into the box for Cole to get on the end of.

Giggs always played the ball into the right area for Cole to run into and get on the end of the cross because he knew how clinical a striker Cole was and where he wanted the ball.

Cole trusted Giggs to play the right ball into him because of the quality of cross he could deliver into the box and Giggs was always looking for him whenever he was ready to deliver a cross into the penalty area.

Their partnership played a key role in the success they achieved together at United because of Giggs' ability to deliver perfect crosses into the box and Cole knowing when they were coming and his ability to put them away.

Nolberto Solano and Alan Shearer

Solano and Shearer had a highly effective partnership when they played together at Newcastle with Solano mostly being the provider and Shearer being the goal scorer.

Solano was one of the best crossers of a ball on his day because of the quality of ball he could deliver which made him a strikers dream.

Solano provided 16 assists for Shearer during their time together at Newcastle and Shearer even described Solano as the best crosser of the ball he played with because of the amount of times Solano would cross the ball into him.

Solano was probably the player Shearer had the best partnership with as he provided the most assists for him than any other teammate and the player he had the most goal combinations with.

Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler

McManaman and Fowler were a highly effective partnership for Liverpool during their time together with McManaman mostly being the provider and Fowler being the goal scorer.

They were involved in 24 goal combinations when they played together with McManaman assisting Fowler for 20 of them by knowing where Fowler was on the pitch and when to play the ball into him.

He knew that Fowler was a deadly finisher and Liverpool's best source for goals and Fowler trusted McManaman to play the right ball into him.

They were both part of a young Liverpool team at the time and were both an integral part of it through McManaman's pace and ability to create and Fowler's goal scoring exploits.

Darren Anderton and Teddy Sheringham

Anderton and Sheringham's partnership was split over two spells because of Sheringham leaving Spurs for Man United in 1997 before returning in 2001.

They were one of the finest duos the Premier League has ever seen as they combined 27 times for Spurs across two spells with Anderton being the provider and Sheringham being the finisher.

Anderton always knew where Sheringham was on the pitch and when to get the ball into him because of the telepathic relationship they had and Sheringham's goal scoring instincts.

Their partnership was at it's strongest during the 90's as they had a longer spell together in the first spell than they did in their second spell.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney

Ronaldo and Rooney were one of the finest duos the Premier League has ever seen and their partnership played a massive role in Man United winning those three straight Premier League titles between 2007 and 2009.

They combined 21 times during their time together at United and it was during the 2006/07 season where their partnership began to kick off as Ronaldo began to add end product to his game and move away from being the show pony and Rooney was continuing to develop.

They often rotated with one another as Rooney liked to drift out wide to allow Ronaldo to play through the middle which was what made their partnership so effective.

Rooney doing what he did by drifting out wide or dropping deep allowed Ronaldo to thrive and turn into the player he would go on to become.

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino

Salah and Firmino had a brilliant partnership throughout their time together at Liverpool where they were part of that iconic front three alongside Sadio Mane.

Unlike most winger-striker duos where the winger is the provider and the striker is the goal scorer, this one was the other way round in that Firmino was mostly the provider whereas Salah was mostly the goal scorer.

Firmino was the one in that front three who dropped deep to receive the ball to allow space for Salah to run into and it was his work off the ball that allowed Salah to do what he did.

They combined for 25 goals during their time together at Liverpool and their partnership played a key role in their season after season battle for the Premier League title with Man City.

Robert Pires and Thierry Henry

Henry's main partner at Arsenal might've been Dennis Bergkamp, but he also formed an excellent partnership with Robert Pires as the pair of them combined 29 times.

They both provided many goals for one another as Henry liked to create as well as score goals, but most of the time Pires was the provider as he assisted Henry 17 times.

The pair of them had a telepathic relationship on the pitch as they both knew where each other were on the pitch and when to play the ball into one another.

Their partnership played a key role in every success they achieved together at Arsenal and especially during the Invincibles season.

Heung Min Son and Harry Kane

Son and Kane had to be my no.1 because they currently hold the record for most goal involvements with 47 goal combinations.

They were both providers for one another as Kane liked to drop deep to receive the ball which freed up some space for Son to run into from Kane's through ball.

They both knew where each other were on the pitch and when they were going to make the run towards goal because of the telepathic relationship they had on the pitch and the trust they had in one another as well.

They both carried Spurs during their final few seasons together and have both been sorely missed since they left as their form this season has shown.

MY TOP 10: