Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane? Son, Alli and Kane?
No, the most dominant trio in the Premier League can actually be found at Manchester City. But it’s not Aguero, Sterling and Sane.
Kevin De Bruyne’s return from injury has reunited England’s most effective triumvirate, reconnecting a magical midfield triangle with David Silva and Fernandinho.
All three ranked in the top 20 players for open-play sequence involvement last season at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable machine that romped to the title with 100 points and 100 goals.
City’s innovative, possession-based game relies heavily on its midfield schemers to set the tone both with and without the ball, and no central midfield collective in the country could compare.
De Bruyne (46), Silva (34) and Fernandinho (31) ranked first, fourth and fifth, respectively, for involvement in sequences ending in a goal.
Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli were the only team in Europe to be compared to City stylistically, but his Chelsea side are still learning – and they will have their work cut out to stop City’s magic trio this weekend.
Watch the video above for the statistics and full breakdown.
Throughout the 2018-19 season, the 'Innovation Champions' series will highlight the Intelligent Movement of Europe's top teams. Follow the series on Facebook at Nissan Football Lab.
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