In Focus: Europe's five deadliest strike partnerships

Strike partnerships are said to be a dying breed in modern football.

With more and more managers opting for a sole frontman in their formations, teams lining up with two up top are generally perceived as a thing of the past.

But this season has shown that there is still a place for attacking partnerships with plenty lighting up Europe's top leagues, even if one of the pair is lining up out wide.

Read on as we pick out the five deadliest goalscoring duos.

Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) — 21 goals

Arguably the most traditional pairing of the five, Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez both generally identify as out-and-out strikers.

It looked set to be a difficult season for Inter Milan when Romelu Lukaku left, putting an end to his prolific relationship with Martinez in the previous two seasons.

But veteran No9 Dzeko was brought in on a free transfer and has instantly hit it off with the Argentine.

The 35-year-old is able to hold the ball up and link play, allowing Martinez creative freedom in a second striker role.

The former City man has an impressive 11 goals in 22 games with his partner netting 10 times to fire the Nerazzurri to the top of Serie A and through to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Erling Haaland and Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) — 25 goals

Borussia Dortmund may have lost Jadon Sancho over the summer but Erling Haaland's excellent partnership with Marco Reus is still going strong.

While the superstar Norwegian has managed the bulk of those goals, 31-year-old Reus is showing no signs of slowing down with eight in all competitions.

Reus admitted he has never seen a player like Haaland at Dortmund before, which is quite the statement considering he has lined up with Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Black and Yellow.

He said last season: "I've never seen anyone like Haaland at this club.

"He's unique. He's still very young. He's developed massively over the past six to nine months. He's become really good with the ball at his feet and with a defender at his back."

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane (Liverpool) — 30 goals

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been two of Europe’s best forwards for some years now and this season they have been at their brilliant best.

The Egyptian astonishingly already has 21 goals to his name in all competitions, while the man on Liverpool’s left has chipped in with nine.

Their long-term goalscoring prowess is there for all to see with both recent inductees into the Premier League 100 club.

Jurgen Klopp will lose both his star men for the best part of a month when they head to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

But fellow forwards Diogo Jota, Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino netting 20 goals between them so far will have Reds fans hoping they can step up in the stars' absence.

Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) — 30 goals

Karim Benzema is already a legend at Real Madrid — and Vinicius Junior is now proving that he is the Bernabeu’s next star.

The Frenchman has been his usual productive self with an impressive 18 goals in 21 games and that is being backed up by the highly-rated 21-year-old’s most productive season yet.

The left-winger has always possessed the skill and confidence to beat a man but has been criticised during his time in Spain after struggling to show consistency.

The penny has finally dropped and the Brazilian’s 12 goal-haul in all competitions is already his best in the white of Madrid.

While the club have their troubles off the pitch, the pair’s partnership is Real’s saving grace on it with their strikes firing them eight points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Robert Lewandowski and Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich) — 37 goals

Robert Lewandowski’s astonishing form in front of goal sees this pairing lead the way by a distance — but do not let that undermine Leroy Sane’s impact.

The former Manchester City man did not set the world alight during his first campaign but now looks right at home with the Bavarians.

Thomas Muller has always been Lewandowski’s support act but Sane has been firmly amongst the goals too this term, finding the net 10 times.

Former Bayern and current Germany head coach Hansi Flick recently said the 25-year-old has reached a new level since he was in charge at the Allianz Arena.

He beamed: "Leroy Sane has made a big leap. Not only with us, but also with Bayern, he plays at a very high level."

Throw Muller and winger Serge Gnabry into the mix, and it is proving a deadly formula for the Bundesliga champions.