Barcelona's MSN, Real Madrid's BBC and Europe's top 10 attacking trios of the 21st century – ranked

We've been blessed to witness the brilliance of a host of superb triumvirates since the turn of the century, but which stands out as the best?

Real Madrid and Barcelona are doing battle for the title of Europe's finest team – again. Champions League holders Real have got even stronger since adding Kylian Mbappe to their ranks, while their arch-rivals have clicked into top gear for the first time in the post-Lionel Messi era under the stewardship of the genius German tactician Hansi Flick.

Only four points separate Spanish football's two biggest clubs at the top of La Liga, they've already booked a Copa del Rey final meeting and are on course for a titanic El Clasico clash in the Champions League showpiece. Whether or not Real or Barca can go on and clinch a historic treble remains to be seen, but it's safe to say they are both capable of getting over the line due to the strength of their respective frontlines.

The headline for the final act of the season undoubtedly reads: Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo vs Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. When the dust settles at the end of May, a new holy trinity could be etched into football's history books.

The question is: which star triumvirates are they bidding to measure up to? GOAL ranks European football's 10 greatest attacking trios of the 21st century so far below…

Getty10Hulk, Falcao & Varela

Porto scoured the globe to assemble arguably their most fearsome strike force ever in 2009, luring Colombian star Radamel Falcao from Argentina and Brazilian sensation Hulk from Japan for bargain fees to link up with homegrown trickster Silvester Varela – who had been cast off by Sporting CP. They quickly developed a telepathic understanding, and Andre Villas-Boas recognised their incredible potential after being drafted in as Porto's new head coach ahead of the 2010-11 campaign.

Falcao, Hulk and Varela hit 86 goals between them that season as Porto romped to the Primeira Liga title without losing a single game, won the Taca de Portugal, and got their hands on the Europa League trophy. Master finisher Falcao scored 18 times in the continental competition alone, a record that still stands to this day, and with Hulk smashing through opponents at will and Varela leaving defenders for dust with his lightning turn of pace, Porto were a match for anyone.

AdvertisementAFP9Gotze, Lewandowski & Reus

Borussia Dortmund's 2012-13 campaign was full of heartbreak. Jurgen Klopp's side finished a distant second to Bayern in the Bundesliga title race and lost to their arch-rivals in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, but had the chance to exact revenge in an all-German Champions League final.

Unfortunately, BVB blew it again, though, with Bayern emerging as 2-1 winners at Wembley courtesy of an 89th-minute strike from Arjen Robben. But make no mistake, it would have been Dortmund who won the treble that year, not Bayern, had their defence not been in such a shambles.

With Marco Reus and Mario Gotze on hand to provide world-class service, Robert Lewandowski hit 36 goals across all competitions to cement his standing as the most deadly centre-forward in Europe. Four of those efforts came in a 4-1 demolition of Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals as Klopp's heavy-metal brand of football was unleashed in all its glory.

It was enough to leave Bayern fearing they could soon be usurped as Germany's most dominant team, so they proceeded to trigger Mario Gotze's €37 million (£31m/$41m) release clause, before snatching Lewandowski on a free transfer the following year to nip Klopp's revolution in the bud.

Getty8Pedro, Hazard & Costa

Pedro, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa did not immediately gel at Chelsea. All three men were guilty of underperforming in a nightmare 2015-16 season that saw the Blues finish 10th in the Premier League and exit the Champions League in the round of 16 at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, but the outlook changed dramatically after the arrival of Antonio Conte.

Costa notched 22 goals as Hazard and Pedro racked up 24 goal involvements each across all competitions to help Chelsea re-establish themselves as England's top club in Conte's first season in the dugout. The Blues finished seven points clear of Tottenham and 15 ahead of Manchester City to clinch their fifth Premier League title and reached the FA Cup final, ultimately losing 2-1 to Arsenal.

N'Golo Kante scooped the PFA Players' Player of the Year award for his outstanding displays in midfield, but Costa, Hazard and Pedro would all have been deserving winners too. Costa was a force of nature upfront, Hazard produced match-winning moments out of nothing and Pedro was a constant menace on the left wing; a lack of European football definitely gave Chelsea an advantage over their domestic rivals, but it was a joy to see that trio reach its full potential.

AFP7Mbappe, Cavani & Neymar

Edinson Cavani had already etched his name into PSG folklore with his goalscoring exploits in his first four years at the club, but the French giants moved to bolster his supporting cast ahead of the 2017-18 campaign, breaking records in the process. Neymar became the world's most expensive player when joining PSG from Barcelona in a €222m (£187m/$247m) deal, while Mbappe was snapped up from Monaco for a cool €180m (£152m/$200m).

PSG's new trifecta gelled instantly, racking up 87 goals between them in their first season together to help PSG land all four domestic trophies on offer in France. A hugely disappointing last-16 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid overshadowed their achievements somewhat, but PSG became a truly elite team that season, as evidenced by a 3-0 rout of Bayern Munich in the group stage of the competition.

Neymar came as close as he possibly could to justifying his outrageous price tag as he pulled the strings with his exceptional dribbling and passing, while Mbappe lived up to his billing as Europe's newest superstar and Cavani broke Zlatan Ibrahimovic's all-time scoring record for PSG. There was no stopping them in full flow, and up until this season, 'MEN' were undoubtedly the most potent trio in the club's history.