Some of the best things in life come in pairs.
Socks, for example. They keep your feet comfy and warm, at least until one of them goes missing in the washing machine. Or salt and pepper; one brings out the natural flavour of your food, while the other adds a little spice.
What about Wham! – the legendary musical duo consisting of the late, great George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley that gifted the world the hit single Last Christmas? The holidays simply wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for them.
Premier League football is no different. From rock-solid centre-back pairings to prolific partnerships up top, the top flight has a history of great duos.
After Gary Neville recently hailed the link-up between Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, we have listed who we consider to be the Premier League’s best attacking partnerships.
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ByRoss KilvingtonNov 2, 2024 9 Andy Cole & Dwight Yorke Manchester United
No list of great Premier League partnerships would be complete without talking about Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke.
During their debut season together at Manchester United in 1998/99, the two scored 53 goals combined across all competitions to fire the Red Devils to a historic treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
They scored another 43 goals between them in the following campaign as United again won the league.
“Me and Yorkie are polar opposites but we understood each other like we were born together,” Cole once said of his former strike partner, adding: “I loved playing with him.”
8 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink & Eidur Gudjohnsen Chelsea
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen were known as “Fire & Ice” during their time together at Chelsea between 2000 and 2004.
Hasselbaink was known for his formidable physical presence and thunderous right foot, while Gudjohnsen was noted for his cool demeanour and ability to create chances for his teammates.
Together, they provided panache and power, subtlety and savagery, and calmness and chaos in equal measure. In 121 games up top together for the Blues, they scored a combined 96 goals.
Speaking about his connection with Gudjohnsen in an interview with Chelsea’s official website in 2020, Hasselbaink said:
“The partnership with Eidur was not worked on, but it was very, very special, and it was also very pleasant.
“It was very easy and it just clicked, the understanding was just there, and it was like a tandem, and it just fitted very well.”
7 Peter Crouch & Jermain Defoe Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur
Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe were the perfect little & large partnership.
During successful spells at Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur, the two scored 77 goals in 141 games together, with the diminutive Defoe often latching on to balls that were knocked down by the impossibly tall Crouch.
The two also linked up on occasion for England, including at the 2010 World Cup.
During an appearance on Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk podcast in 2020, Defoe described his partnership with Crouch as the “best partnership ever”, comparing it to that of Yorke and Cole at United.
“If you look at Crouchy, you think he is just good in the air, but he was so good with his feet,” he explained. “Every game we tried to assist each other, and when you play with each other for such a long time, it just becomes natural.”
6 Harry Kane & Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur Statistically speaking, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are the most lethal partnership in Premier League history.In 229 games together for Tottenham between 2015 and 2023, the pair directly combined for no less than 47 goals – with Kane scoring 23 and Son scoring 24.They also hold the record for the most goal combinations in a Premier League season, teeing each other up 14 times in the 2020/21 campaign.Their love for playing together was best demonstrated in a 1-0 win over Burnley during that season, when after scoring the game's only goal, Son turned to ask Kane if he got the assist. When Kane nodded, the two embraced and celebrated together. 5 Didier Drogba & Frank Lampard Chelsea
It’s not often that strikers and midfielders team up to become perfect partners, but in the case of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, that’s exactly what happened.
In 300 games together for Chelsea, the pair hit a combined 254 goals, directly linking up a mightily impressive 51 times.
Most notably, they combined twice in FA Cup finals. In the 2007 final against Manchester United, Lampard teed up Drogba for the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Blues, while in 2012, the Englishman again set up the Ivorian’s winner. That’s what you call clutch.
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1 ByBarney LaneNov 1, 2024 4 David Silva & Sergio Aguero Manchester City
Another example of a fierce midfield-striker combination, David Silva and Sergio Aguero directly combined for 29 goals in the Premier League alone during their nine seasons together at Manchester City.
In that time, they helped the club lift 11 major honours, including four league titles. Former Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren once described stopping Aguero and Silva as the toughest job in the Premier League.
“They can produce goals in moments from nothing to win football matches, so when you give them those moments, it’s quite easy for them,” he said.
Their partnership came to an end in 2020 when Silva joined Real Sociedad, while Aguero left to join Barcelona a year later.
3 Alan Shearer & Chris Sutton Blackburn Rovers
Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton were the Premier League’s original power couple, but like many celebrity partnerships, their time together was short-lived and ended in tears.
In the 1994/95 season, Shearer and Sutton scored 58 goals between them as Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League title. As a result, they became affectionately known as “SAS”.
However, Shearer scored 36 goals as Sutton managed just one the following season, and the pair went their separate ways when Shearer joined Newcastle United in the summer.
Sutton later admitted that he never felt “any warmth” from Shearer during their time together at Ewood Park. “You have better relationships with some players than others,” he said.
2 Thierry Henry & Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal
Thierry Henry enjoyed fruitful partnerships with a number of his Arsenal teammates during his time in north London, including Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord.
However, none were quite as special as his link-up with Dennis Bergkamp.
The pair, who are both widely regarded as two of the Premier League’s greatest-ever players, enjoyed an almost telepathic understanding of one another, with the more creative Bergkamp often knowing where Henry was before feeding him through on goal to finish in trademark fashion.
In 216 games together for Arsenal, they scored a combined 177 goals and won two Premier League titles (one of which they won without losing a game) and two FA Cups.
Despite having shared the field with the likes of Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho, Henry has previously named Bergkamp as the best player he’s ever played with.
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ByAlex RobertsDec 15, 2023 1 Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane & Roberto Firmino Liverpool
Okay, so this is technically not a duo, but pick any two of these three and put them together, and you’d still have one of the best partnerships in Premier League history.
During most of their time together at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino were simply unstoppable.
A perfect combination of pace, power, finesse, skill, desire and pretty much any other desirable attacking quality you can think of, the three scored a combined 338 goals across five seasons, helping Liverpool to win the Champions League and the Premier League title.
Salah is the only remaining part of the legendary Liverpool trio, with Mane and Firmino both now plying their trade in Saudi Arabia, but their impact at Anfield will remain forever.