ASSISTKINGS QUARTERLY: UCL DOMINATORS & PASS-MASTER INNOVATORS

Welcome my friends to the show that never ends, the Assistkings and the pass-masters who rule this game we all love so much.
    Why should the goal scorers get all of the fun and attention??
   

THE LIST

10
WILLIAN (Chelsea)

-11 assists overall
-116 key passes
-5 assists in his last 9 matches (3 as a sub)


           The Brazilian went completely unused as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat vs Everton, but has been on the mark more often as of late, dishing assists in the Europa League, and sometimes providing the finished article in the Premier League. Though, it did shock the hell out of us when we totaled his numbers and it was a staggering 116 chances created on the season.
           The Chelsea man has been unlucky at times, assisting players who hit the bar 4 times this season, in addition to his 11 assists overall.
           Willian isn't one of my favorite players, but credit is due where it is due and Willian's statistics match his final third contributions as of late.
          And with his 32 key passes in the Europa league and the task of winning the competition looking more than likely the only route into the Champions League for the London club next season, Willian will prove especially valuable.             
       Clubs in that 5th-7th table tier seem to be betwixt and in-between when it comes to the Brazilian's crossing and passing abilities in the final third, compared to the defending in the Champions League, where Willian has either been extremely good or very bad, never in-between.
           His Europa League success could translate into Chelsea sneaking into the Champions League after a disaster Premier League campaign under Mauricio Sarri, a potential impending transfer ban and the loss of Eden Hazard over the summer all on the instant, not distant future.
          Which would make Willian an extremely valuable asset to the club at a time when they need him the most.

9
IVAN RAKITIC (Barca)


-9 assists (3 assists & a goal in his last 6 matches)
-earlier this season, Rakitic had 3 assists vs Cultural Leonesa in the 1st half alone, being substituted at halftime

       The Croatian was rested lately for nearly all of a single match, a rarity this season as he's played nearly nonstop under the terms of his summer contract extension with Josep Maria Bartomeu (Barca president) signing the papers with Ernesto Valverde's "okay".
        But the small amount of rest has revitalized the "man in the marathon shape", with Rakitic producing a world class give and go with Luis Suarez from the bench in that aforementioned match, then scoring the winner in the 1-0 over Real Madrid and helping Messi to two separate hat tricks against Sevilla and Betis with brilliant assists, as well as his steadied, valuable shift in midfield against Lyon in the Champions League.
      He's had such a fruitful relationship with the Barcelona captain since he was brought over from Sevilla in the summer of 2014, with this season alone seeing the Croatian assist Messi directly on 5 goals, while Messi has returned the favor to Rakitic twice.
    Even with all of these fantastic, energetic, class-oozing nonstop performances, the World Cup finalist could do with another batch of rest before the real business of the Champions League quarterfinals (or the Atletico Madrid match in a few weeks' time) come to roost.

8
LUIS SUAREZ (Barca)
-10 assists
-UDGC:6 (earned 3 pens vs Madrid in the 5-1 and the 3-0 and against Lyon, shot off the post to Malcolm vs Madrid, earned pen vs Huesca, shot on goal to Pique vs Girona)

      Luis "In the Sky With Diamonds"  Suarez (as Ray Hudson on BEINSports dubbed him) has seen his form skyrocketing as of late, starting with a brace against Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey. 
      Against Lyon, Suarez executed a sick turn and lay-off assist for the confidence-shot Coutinho to walk into the goal and before that, earned the penalty Messi scored to begin the 5-1 demolition in the Champions League 2nd leg.
     On Sunday, in the rollicking destruction of Real Betis, the Uruguyan pulled the rabbit out of the hat with an outrageous back-heel assist to Messi against Betis, with only seconds left in the 1st half to make it 2-0, after Messi's outrageous and stupendous free kick. 
     Barcelona only had 44% possession in the first half, completely allowing Betis to control the match, as Valverde opted to go with the core starters and veterans, not seeming to rest many of the players in the team who featured in the Champions League match against Lyon (as well as most of the matches before that).
     It was a decision that proved my previous analysis correct, that this Barcelona team, while having Messi and Suarez mask their deficiencies, are tired and need to be rested before the matches against United in April. And worse yet, when a 4-man midfield featuring three 30+-year-olds, it's a wonder how we led 3-0 at one juncture.
     Even still, at least we were given the opportunity to see Luis Suarez erupt against Betis, with a brilliant goal as well, dancing former La Masia grad and Barca senior player Marc Bartra and Sergio Canales' pants down, then skipping over another defender going underneath him, before slotting it home through Pau Lopez, a disgusting wonder-goal from a much criticized player, who does frequently miss big chances, as he did with two one on ones vs Betis, shanking an absolute gift from a misplayed header that set him free and clear on goal with nothing and nobody around and perhaps too much time to think about it.
      Yet, Suarez was back to his best against Lyon, too, dancing and dribbling, flicking it over opponents on the turn and starting Barca on the counter, but this injury he suffered near the end of the Betis match (unnecessary minutes he shouldn't have been playing) could put him out for some time, if serious, or hamper his progress as the roaming sorcerer of the Barca front three who looked back to his 2015, 2016 sharpest.
     Barcelona cannot win the Champions League without Luis Suarez's unbelievably underrated work ethic, his gritty front pressing activities, the way he shoulder shrugs with the keeper after a lazy collision to distract and confuse, or perhaps intimidate the goalkeeper...there is so much art and depth to what Luis Suarez does...

7
DAVID SILVA (Man City)

-10 assists overall
-89 total chances created (all comps.)
-7 assists in his last 16 apps. 
(with 3 being substitute apps.)

        David Silva was unlucky against Schalke, seeing an illustrious through ball to Leroy Sane (that was finished off by the German) called back for offsides, though numerous replays showed Sane clearly on.
        Silva has still been in superb form, taking a more measured role over the last few games as his namesake Bernardo Silva takes center stage for Manchester City.
       Both Silvas' have been dynamite over the course of the entire campaign, of course, yet as of late his midfield counterpart has begun to prove as decisive as the Spaniard has been, if not to a further degree.
        David Silva hasn't scored a goal in 2019 yet...his last being on December 30th, though his assist numbers have boosted. We've seen Guardiola adjust his role  further behind the final third as injuries to Fernandinho and De Bruyne weaken the machinery of City's midfield.
        Guardiola won't allow the balance to be wrong in midfield, but isn't a three man cog of Bernardo and David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan going to be exploited against a top opponent? Didn't we see that fail against Liverpool in the Champions League?
       Tottenham are coming up and they did hold City to 1 goal in the slight defeat, though with De Bruyne and all-too-critical left back Benjamin Mendy coming back from injuries after the international break, City look poised to give a good go at all four titles still available for them to win.
        But can Guardiola keep both Silvas' fit in the business end? How long until the City stars begin to fade under the fixture list's incredible demands?

6
BERNARDO SILVA (Man City)

-10 assists overall
-2 assists, 2 goals, 1 UDGC in his last 2 matches
-9 goal contributions for Man City when losing or drawing 
(3 this weekend in the FA Cup comeback vs Swansea)
-UDGC:6 (earned penalties vs West Ham, Schalke, created own goal vs Burnley with De Bruyne, the 1st goal vs Chelsea in the 6-0, Silva goal vs Fulham, cross not dealt with vs Hoffenheim)
-72 total key passes 

   Bernardo has been exhilarating for Man City, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 2 matches, and additionally setting up the opening penalty in the 7-0 victory over Schalke in the UCL. Silva scored another goal and notched an assist in the come from behind 2-3 FA Cup game against Swansea, playing yet another full 90 minutes for Pep Guardiola's side.
   Bernardo is having his greatest season yet, scoring venomous goals and setting up many different teammates with delicious passing all over the pitch and displaying an overall breathtaking palette of skills on and off the ball (46 tackles completed in the Premier League and Champions League combined).
    Bernardo is a tireless and hard-working midfielder but his real skills lie close to goal, where his decisive finishing has been settling matches for City lately.
    Let's hope Guardiola can resist the temptation of playing Bernardo every match and rest the guy for a few matches, he's earned it and with his last rest coming in the 9-0 over Burton nearly two months ago, we see a hamstring injury on the horizon for both David and Bernardo Silva as they've carried City (match in, match out) during the stop-start injury recoveries from Kevin De Bruyne (issues that started after the World Cup) as Pep couldn't restrain himself and played De Bruyne in nearly every match only days after being injured: It's what has caused both injury problems for Mendy and De Bruyne. As we know, Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho just went down after playing every minute of the Premier League campaign up to that point, though Laporte's younger body has recovered.
     There's no such thing as an Iron Man, so why try to be one in December when you're most needed in March, April and May?

5
RAHEEM STERLING (Man City)


-13 assists overall
-9 in the EPL
-Key Passes Per game: 
3.0 in the UCL, 2.0 in the EPL
-84 key passes total
-UDGC: 7 


            Sterling was at his best again in the Champions League for City, sprinting up the right wing with reckless abandon and providing Aguero with 2 identical chances, one from a delicious pass from Kyle Walker that split the defensive lines before Sterling's stutter steps and juking in the box and swift passing created a shot that Aguero smacked off of the post, but it was the near identical second time this run was deployed that provided the fireworks: this time, Gundogan provided the ball over the top and Sterling hustled Schalke's left back into dust and cut it back to the byline, turning and then using his heel and a reverse kick to back-heel it into Aguero's path, this time the Argentine striker making no mistake and burying it to give Sterling the assist. 
            Once again, Sterling came off of the bench against Swansea to earn a gigantic penalty in the 2-3 come from behind match in the FA Cup, the 5th he's won this season. 
           Like his partner-in-devastating-opponents-in-the-final-third, Leroy Sane, Sterling is thriving under Pep Guardiola and it seems, with his hat trick a few matches ago, his back-heel against Schalke and later, his goal from his friend Sane, the pair could do anything, at any given time on the pitch right now....Tottenham, Barca, Juventus, Liverpool beware!

4
HAKIM ZIYECH (Ajax)

-122 chances created 
(most in European futbol)
-14 assists overall
-UDGC: 9 

              After registering a shot on target and looking good in the first few minutes against AZ Alkmaar, Hakim Ziyech went down with a calf injury in the 23rd minute, needing to be substituted out of the match. He still makes the list as the holder of the #1 spot in chances created on the season and being 3rd in total assists, but is dropping rapidly with each match he will miss.
             We wait on baited breath to see if the Moroccan will (hopefully not) miss any time, especially if he were to miss out on the ties against Juventus.


3
JADON SANCHO (Dortmund)

-14 assists (12 in the Bundesliga)
-UDGC: 4
-Key Passes Per Match: 
3.0 in the UCL, 2.0 in the Bundesliga

       With his third multi-assist match of the campaign in a topsy-turvy 2-3 victory over Hertha Berlin, Sancho was immense. He supplied the late match winner and come-back to his favorite target, the enigmatic Marco Reus, scoring off of Sancho's deft, left-footed bending pass around two Berlin defenders that Reus made swift contact on to volley home brilliantly in the 92nd minute, taking all 3 points at the death, a huge boost for the recently struggling Dortmund in the Bundesliga title race.
     Earlier, Sancho had pulled Dortmund back into the match with another assist from a corner, dipping over the defense and onto Dan-Axel Zagadou's head for a phenomenal and powerful long-range header. 
      The Englishman was dominant against Hertha Berlin (5 shots, 6 dribbles), coming back to his best form after a recent dip, beginning after Dortmund's 1st leg defeat to Tottenham in the Champions League. 
       It's great to see the teenager return to the top 10 and in style.

...and now the top 2..... 

    It is such a close tie between both of these masters of the Champions League this week, both doing insanely well in league competition as well...but only one can have the #1 spot on this week's list, it's unbearably close to the point I can't tell which was better: the 2 goals and 2 assists vs Lyon this week from Lionel Messi and his 18 overall assists on the campaign, or Leroy Sane's 16 assists and 1 goal and 3 assists vs Schalke?

For Variety's sake....


2
LIONEL MESSI (Barca)

-18 assists
(4 assists in his last 6 appearances)
-112 total key passes 
(7 in his last 2 matches)
-UDGC:6 
(2 to Dembele, 1 to Pique vs Girona, earned pen vs Sevilla, ball to Dembele vs Levante, free kick not dealt with to Suarez vs Getafe, shot on goal vs Leganes)
-assisted Roberto, Suarez (x2), Coutinho and Rakitic who've hit the post
-3 multi-assist matches and 12 multi-goal games 
(4 hat tricks of goals)

     Messi continued his aim to lay his stake at the Greatest of All Time altar, scoring another 3 goals in Twitter and Ray Hudson-shattering / gravity-altering ways,  putting Betis to the sword 4-1, combining with Luis Suarez for a miracle back-heel assist from the Uruguyan to his Argentine partner in crime to slap in (just before halftime) with a side-footed judo-swipe.            He later scored another of his greatest goals, one of however many hundred, where Rakitic laid it off on the carpet with a sneaky slide and Messi pinged it off the top of his ankle and watched in awe at himself as it ricocheted off of the bottom of the bar and down into the goal....just too perfect to be true. 
     Lionel even tried to set up his teammates for 4 different chances, including a few to Suarez where his partner completely missed the mark, such as the one on one Messi set him up from a slipped half through ball for Suarez to bash at goal, only to see his teammate punt it straight into Pau Lopez's chest. 
     But in the midweek Lyon tie, Barca's match of the season so far (judged by importance) Messi had his time with assists, setting up 3 perfect opportunities to score goals, ending with another brace of assists to join his brace of goals. 
     When he assisted Dembele for the 5th goal in the 5-1 late-match blowout of Lyon, it became the 8th goal the Frenchman and the Barca captain have combined for on the season, nearly getting to the same amount of goals that Messi & Suarez have combined for: Messi leading the charge like a hyena, then turning inside and deceiving the back-line before slipping a ball out for Dembele to run on to and smash into the net, which the World Cup winner duly obliged, sending the shot through the keeper with a deflected effort. 
     Before that, Messi set up Gerard Pique with a miracle of pass, a lifted square ball across the front of the Lyon defense as they charged after him and Suarez, completely ignoring the run at the far post from the center back, charging forward for his 7th goal of the season with a diving, tap in finish that showed absolute finishing skill from the Barca defender. The ball from Messi was pure divinity, ranging it over feet and faces heading forward in vain to block or deflect the pass, only to watch the ball orbit all down the line in fantastic fashion like that???
      That particular assist is very hard to describe, though if you see it, you'll never think of Messi the same way again...the 3-D vision..the telescopic awareness of Pique coming from way deep...they must have a code word Pique screams out or something...
      With 6 goals and 3 assists in his last 3 matches, all Barcelona victories, Messi is outrageous, openly declaring war on all that is holy considering Cristiano Ronaldo....
       ....Messi is ruthless.

1
LEROY SANE (Man City)

- 16 assists
- 67 total chances created: 2.6 in the UCL, 2.2 in the EPL per 90
- UDGC: 6 
(inc. own goal vs Huddersfield, Boruc smothered shot vs Bournemouth, pass slightly deflected vs Hoffenheim, Hoedt own goal vs Southampton)
      Sane had his greatest match ever in the 2nd leg against Schalke this week, ripping his former club to shreds. Sane not only had a goal and 3 outrageous assists, he even had another goal wrongfully disallowed for offsides.
      In 22 minutes, Leroy Sane delivered 3 assists to 3 different players, using a trio of different passes: a blistering cross to Sterling, a cutback pass to Bernardo and finally an exacting through ball for Phil Foden to swing around the keeper.
      This was a definitive performance, as Sane displayed everything that has made him one of the most unbelievable young players of our time. Sane now has 4 multi-assist matches this season, with two and a half more months to go in the campaign.
     Continuing his exploits, Sane was out there for 66 minutes in the 2-3 comeback victory over Swansea in the FA Cup, carving out 2 chances, one of which required a steadfast clearance to deny a goal-bound opportunity, as Sane had slid a fierce ball across the wide-open face of goal to Aguero.
    But it is has been his relationship with Raheem Sterling that has ruined many an opponent's days this season (and last), with the tandem running the show on the wings, while both Silvas' (Bernardo and David) are pulling the strings in midfield and all-action threats like Sergio Aguero up top, Ilkay Gundogan launching precise long balls from deep midfield and a back-line with such fantastic defenders on the ball like Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, and Kyle Walker.....shit, even their goalkeeper has 2 assists this season and 3 in the last 2 seasons!
      There are simply too many extreme dangers coming at the opposition when facing Manchester City...which is why it is great to see Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero etc take full advantage of the talent that surrounds them.
    Quite simply, Manchester City have the best squad on the planet (younger and deeper than Barcelona's) when healthy....but even Gundogan has filled in for the injured Fernandinho with aplomb, looking like a bonafide Spanish midfielder of the 2010s, launching long ball after long ball that destabilized the Schalke back line in the Champions League, or Riyad Mahrez or Bernardo Silva filling in wholesale for the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
     The 7-0 against Schalke, the 7-0 over Rotherham, the 6-0 over Chelsea, 5-1 over Arsenal, the 9-0 over Burton.... all of these matches are exactly what those oil-rich Etihad owners paid for...the squad expanse is incredible, with youngsters that barely see the pitch like Phil Foden being completely capable of leading a team from midfield by himself, hell...we know Jadon Sancho came from this same crop of players, too...
     To see Sane being as rampant as we expect from him, with Guardiola actually believing in him with a start in his usual left wing role (and not taking him off at halftime or some stupid decision like that), was brilliant, with the German ripping his former club apart with aplomb, joy, verve, and swagger, showing everything he is capable of in his grand, magical locker.
      If you remember, Leroy Sane's Champions League debut was actually against Real Madrid, in the Bernabeu, on the cusp of halftime with a player injured for Schalke and Leroy Sane being trusted enough to come on and combine with the Dutch striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar.
     Instead, Sane scored a breathtaking goal against the Ronaldo-led side, losing 3-4 on the night in an absolutely crazy match, where Sane showed everything any future manager ever needed to know about him.
      And this most current Champions League match just goes to show that this kid must be trusted by Pep Guardiola on the big stage, in the bright lights or City won't be winning the Champions League. If he didn't play Leroy Sane in either leg vs Tottenham in the quarterfinals, City has a 98% chance of losing on aggregate.
      For that, we put Sane at #1 on our list, as well as the incredible achievement of a hat trick of assists in the Champions League knockout stages and his incredible rise in the face of skepticism from Pep Guardiola as of late.


Key:
- UDGC= Uncredited Direct Goal Contribution
- Key passes and chances created = the same thing, with us counting dangerous chances that may have not ended up in a completed pass but were engineered chances nonetheless.
-We count all competitive matches, including domestic cups and European tournament qualifiers

BEST OF THE REST AND REST OF THE BEST



MEMPHIS DEPAY (Lyon)
DID NOT PLAY
-116 chances created (3 vs Barcelona)
-14 assists overall

           Depay was rested again on the weekend after the midweek duel against Barcelona at Camp Nou, but since he has not played for the 2nd time in 3 matches, we disregard his suitable performance and overall numbers and drop him out of the top 10.

HAKAN CALHANOGLU (AC Milan)
-9 assists (3 in his last 5 apps.)

JULIAN BRANDT 
(Bayer Leverkeusen)
-11 assists
-UDGC: 5

    Brandt drops out after an anonymous performance from him in his side's 1-3 defeat at home to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, a travesty of a result.
     The young German only produced one chance: a blocked shot from Leon Bailey, although he did get fouled to earn the free kick from which his Jamaican teammate (Bailey) blasted to take the score back to 1-2, although it mattered not in the long run, providing only a consolation.
    A scatter shot performance from the team, led by Kevin Volland and Julian Brandt's immature example.

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)
-8 assists
-UDGC: 8 (3 in his last 3 matches)

     Salah continues to create goals out of nothing, mainly his errant touches, or deflected shots, crosses or attempts to charge in on goal, usually with the ball slipping away to tempt the defenders or goalkeepers into going all out for the ball (like he did against Fulham with his cross / shot that was spilled to the sprinting Mane, who put his body in between the keeper and the ball, forcing the keeper to foul Mane in the box for the penalty, all caused by the chaos of Salah's bizarre, but at times breathtaking play).
     The Egyptian did produce another assist on the season against Bayern Munich, blitzing the German club in transition and finishing the move off with one of his usual, nasty cuts inside on the left foot from the right wing, though this time Salah saw his more in form counterpart on the left wing (Sadio Mane) blitzing in on goal from the blind side of the right back Rafinha (in for the suspended Joshua Kimmich). Mo Salah played a fine cross to the center of the box for Mane to headbutt home with a stampeding header, crashing the ball into the goal thanks to the pace and finesse of the weight on the cross from Salah, pinpoint....perfection.
     It's not as slick as the play of yesteryear, but it is still decisive, as it helped Liverpool to a 2-1 victory over Fulham by the slimmest of margins (that Milner penalty, earned by Salah's madcap cross and Mane's distracting run).
    These contributions aren't always pretty, but when done in keeping pace in the title race with City, Salah's contributions are more pivotal than ever.

PLAYERS WITH THE MOST CHANCES CREATED 

1. HAKIM ZIYECH (AJAX) - 122
2. MEMPHIS DEPAY (LYON)- 116
3. WILLIAN  (CHELSEA)- 116
4. LIONEL MESSI (BARCA)-112
5. DUSAN TADIC (AJAX)- 107
6. EDEN HAZARD (CHELSEA)- 105