The Football Faithful
·22 March 2023
Appreciating every player with 10+ goals and assists in Europe’s big five leagues this season
Appreciating every player with 10+ goals and assists in Europe’s big five leagues this season | OneFootball
Bukayo Saka’s brilliant season continued with a decisive performance in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, as the winger scored twice and created another to move the Gunners eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
It continued a fine campaign for the 21-year-old, who is the first Premier League player to record 10+ goals and 10+ assists in the division this season. Following Saka’s achievement, we’ve decided to look at the names to have achieved the feat across Europe’s major leagues.
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Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka’s match-winning performance against Crystal Palace saw the Arsenal starlet reach double figures for goals and assists in the Premier League this season.
Saka has taken his game to a new level to emerge as one of the Premier League’s most productive talents, providing both creativity and cutting edge to Mikel Arteta’s league leaders.
The 21-year-old is the first Arsenal player since Alexis Sanchez in 2016/17 to reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists in a single league season and the youngest Arsenal player to have achieved the feat, eclipsing Cesc Fabregas (2009/10).
Last season just three players – Mohamed Salah, Mason Mount and Jarrod Bowen – reached double figures on both metrics, with Saka’s 12 goals and ten assists having seen him do so by mid-March. Only Erling Haaland (33) and Harry Kane (23) have been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Saka (22) this season.
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Randal Kolo Muani
Randal Kolo Muani must rank among the best pieces of business in Europe this season, with Eintracht Frankfurt’s free transfer capture of the forward from Nantes having proven astute business.
Kolo Muani has broken into the France squad following his fine form in the Bundesliga this season and earned inclusion in Les Bleus’ squad for the World Cup in Qatar last winter. The 24-year-old scored his first international goal in the semi-final as France beat Morocco, a continuation of his excellence at club level.
He has scored 11 goals and provided a league-leading ten assists for Frankfurt, while adding a further five goals for the campaign in the DFB-Pokal and Champions League.
Kolo Muani has shone since transitioning from a wide role into a centre-forward position and his performances this season have seen some of Europe’s top clubs linked with a move. Frankfurt are set to make a huge profit on the player should he depart this summer, having picked up their leading scorer for nothing just eight months ago.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia rivals Kolo Muani as the biggest steal of last summer’s transfer window, after Napoli picked up the services of the Georgian winger for just €10m from Dinamo Batumi. Kvaratskhelia has been a revelation in a Napoli side charging towards a first league title in 1990, with the 22-year-old the stand-out star in Serie A this season.
He has formed an electric understanding with Victor Osimhen, one which has fired the Italian side to the top of the division and into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Kvaratskhelia has 12 goals and ten assists, the latter a leading total in Italy’s top division. Only Osimhen (25) has been directly involved in more goals, with the devastating duo having delighted the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this season.
His performances have earned the winger the nickname “Kvaradona” after Napoli legend Maradona, having produced some of the most exciting displays of flair and dribbling since the Argentine’s famous peak with the club.
Europe’s wealthiest sides will be scratching their heads at how Kvaratskhelia escaped their attention, after his emergence as one of world football’s most exciting young talents this season.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi continues to produce absurd numbers around goal, with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner leading Ligue 1 for goal involvements this season.
Messi has 13 goals and 13 assists in 23 league appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, a return which has helped the French champions establish a seven-point lead at the summit.
Including the Champions League and World Cup in Messi’s statistics and the Argentine has been directly involved in 44 goals in 37 games across those competitions this season.
Even at 35, he is still capable of the astonishing and recently passed 1000 combined goals and assists in his club career.
Paris Saint-Germain’s exit from the Champions League was a major blow to the club’s ambitions, but Messi has helped ensure his side are favourites to claim a ninth Ligue 1 crown in 11 seasons.
Neymar
Neymar joins teammate Messi in this exclusive club, with the Paris Saint-Germain duo having been in fine form this season.
Neymar began in scintillating form with seven goals and six assists across his first five league appearances of the season and was involved in 24 combined goals and assists before an ankle problem curtailed his campaign this month.
PSG have confirmed that the 31-year-old will not return before the end of the season after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage.
It is the fourth time in his career that Neymar has reached 10+ goals and 10+ assists in one of Europe’s leading leagues, having twice done so for Barcelona (2015/16 and 2016/17) and during his debut season for PSG (2017/18).
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