Where do Bayern's prolific trio rank in greatest front threes ever?

Breaking news from the world of sport: Where do Bayern's prolific trio rank in greatest front threes ever? Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kane, Olise and Diaz all scored in their side's Champions League semi-final first leg against PSG last weekByKeifer MacDonald, Sport journalist and Charlotte Coates, Sport journalistPublished9 minutes agoWhen Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz are bearing down on goal, there is usually only one outcome. Just ask Atalanta, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain, and practically any team in Germany, and they will testify to the quality of Europe's most feared front line.

Since linking up for the first time in August, Kane, Diaz and Olise have scored more than 100 times across all competitions for Bayern. They are only the fifth trio to reach a ton since the turn of the century. It is one of the main reasons why the German champions are looking to add the DFB Pokal (German Cup) and Champions League to the Bundesliga title they won last month.

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But where do they rank among the great three-man forward lines of recent times? Ahead of Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris St-Germain - with the German side trailing 5-4 after a remarkable first leg - Sport takes a closer look at the numbers. Guardiola's Barcelona shaped forward linesThree-man forward lines have been a staple tactic throughout the history of football.

But they have arguably never been as popular as they have over the last 15 or so years. It is a resurgence that is largely down to Barcelona's success under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012. Guardiola helped Barcelona win two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles with a dominant possession-based style.

It was a revolutionary system that relied on both the midfield and front line - operating with a recognised number nine - to be fluid in and out of possession. Nine‑time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi was usually the most central attacker, though he often dropped deep to either drag defenders out of position and create space for his team-mates, or to create a numerical advantage in midfield. Either way, the end result was a fluid style of football that was practically impossible to stop and resulted in Barcelona claiming 14 trophies during Guardiola's time at the helm.

Since then, three-man forward lines have become fairly prominent in Europe, with the likes of Real Madrid and PSG deploying similar tactics in the years that followed. In the Premier League, however, the forward line that resembled Guardiola's side most closely was Liverpool's Champions League and Premier League-winning trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. During their five seasons together at Anfield, Firmino was deployed as the Reds' central attacker and, similar to Messi, was responsible for dropping between the lines, linking play with the midfielders and ultimately creating space for Mane and Salah to run in behind.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.