Manchester City’s push for a possible trophy treble at the end of the 2022/23 season has focused heavily on the goals of Erling Haaland.
Haaland has enjoyed an outrageous start to Premier League life but Belgium star Kevin De Bruyne has continued his role as assister-in-chief for Pep Guardiola’s defending champions.
De Bruyne has finished as the top Premier League assist maker in three of the last six Premier League seasons, and he is on course to make that four successes by the end of 2022/23.
City have scored an incredible 82 Premier League goals after 31 matches, with De Bruyne assisting just under 20% of their league tally.
MORE: Remaining Man City fixtures, Premier League games schedule as champions eye third straight title in 2023
Record for most assists in Premier League season
The record for the most Premier League assists in a single season is jointly held by Thierry Henry and De Bruyne, who both managed 20 in one campaign.
Henry racked up his superb assist tally at Arsenal, in the 2002/03 season, while De Bruyne laid on 20 assists for City in 2019/20.
De Bruyne’s 20 in 2019/20 is his best single season return at City, after making 18 assists in 2016/17, and 16 in 2017/18.
? Most Premier League assists since Kevin De Bruyne joined Manchester City:
1⃣?? Kevin De Bruyne: 102
2⃣?? Christian Eriksen: 64
3⃣?? Mo Salah: 57
3⃣??????? Raheem Sterling: 57
4⃣?? Heung-Min Son: 56
5⃣??????? Andy Robertson: 55
5⃣?? Roberto Firmino: 55
5⃣?? Riyad Mahrez: 55
6⃣??????? Trent… pic.twitter.com/9B6e5zVoKo— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 28, 2023
Henry’s former Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil in third place in the one-season list, with 19 assists in 2015/16.
Ozil’s haul is followed by former Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas, who matched De Bruyne by recording 18 in a season.
Can De Bruyne break Premier League season assist record in 2022/23?
De Bruyne’s incredible consistency has developed the Belgian into the top creative midfielder in the Premier League during his time at City, and 2022/23 could set a new benchmark.
With seven Premier League games to go, De Bruyne’s current tally of 16 assists has plenty of space to increase during the run-in, as City look to defend their Premier League title.
Four more assists would see the 31-year-old repeat his joint record of 20, but the chance of five assists from seven games is within his capabilities, and it would seal a superb campaign to set a new record.
Most Premier League assists in a single season
| Season | Player | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | Thierry Henry | 20 |
| 2019-20 | Kevin De Bruyne | 20 |
| 2015-16 | Mesut Ozil | 19 |
| 2004-05 | Frank Lampard | 18 |
| 2014-15 | Cesc Fabregas | 18 |
| 2016-17 | Kevin De Bruyne | 18 |
| 2007-08 | Cesc Fabregas | 17 |
| 2022-23 | Kevin De Bruyne | 16 |
| 1992-93 | Eric Cantona | 16 |
| 2017-18 | Kevin De Bruyne | 16 |
| 1994-95 | Matthew Le Tissier | 15 |
| 1995-96 | Steve McManaman | 15 |
| 1999-00 | David Beckham | 15 |
| 1999-00 | Nolberto Solano | 15 |
| 2001-02 | Robert Pires | 15 |
| 2011-12 | David Silva | 15 |
| 2016-17 | Christian Eriksen | 15 |
| 2017-18 | Leroy Sane | 15 |
| 2018-19 | Eden Hazard | 15 |
Most assists all-time in Premier League history?
De Bruyne broke the 100 Premier League assist mark earlier this season, becoming only the fifth player to register over a century of assists in Premier League history, alongside Ryan Giggs, Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Lampard.
| Player | Team(s) | Assists | Appearances | |
| 1. | Ryan Giggs | Manchester United | 162 | 632 |
| 2. | Cesc Fabregas | Arsenal, Chelsea | 111 | 350 |
| 3. | Wayne Rooney | Everton, Manchester United | 103 | 491 |
| =4. | Kevin De Bruyne* | Manchester City | 102 | 239 |
| =4. | Frank Lampard | Chelsea, Manchester City | 102 | 609 |
| 6. | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 94 | 315 |
| 7. | David Silva | Manchester City | 93 | 309 |
| 8. | Steven Gerrard | Liverpool | 92 | 504 |
| 9. | James Milner* | Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool | 87 | 610 |
| 10. | David Beckham | Manchester United | 80 | 265 |
| 11. | Teddy Sheringham | Tottenham, Manchester United, Portsmouth, West Ham | 76 | 418 |
| 12. | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 74 | 258 |
| 13. | Andrew Cole | Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland | 73 | 414 |
| =. | Christian Eriksen* | Tottenham, Brentford, Manchester United | 73 | 258 |
| 15. | Ashley Young* | Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester United | 71 | 416 |
| 16. | Darren Anderton | Tottenham, Birmingham City | 68 | 319 |
| 17. | Gareth Barry | Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton, West Brom | 64 | 653 |
| Alan Shearer | Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United | 64 | 441 | |
| 19. | Matthew Le Tissier | Southampton | 63 | 270 |
| 20. | Nolberto Solano | Newcastle United, Aston Villa, West Ham United | 62 | 302 |
*Denotes active player still in the Premier League
Most assists in a Premier League match
The most assists by one player in a single Premier League match is four (4). Seven players have managed it, and four of them played for Arsenal at the time.
The first player to achieve the feat was Dennis Bergkamp, who provided four assists in the Gunners’ 5-0 win over Leicester City in February 1999.
The trick was not repeated until 2006, by Bergkamp’s teammate Jose Antonio Reyes in Arsenal’s 7-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough, as Henry scored a hat-trick, to equal Cliff Bastin’s record of 150 league goals for the Gunners.
Cesc Fabregas racked up four assists for Arsene Wenger’s side, as they beat Blackburn Rovers 6-2 in October 2009.
Three years later, former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor set up four goals in an amazing first half, as Tottenham cruised to a 5-0 win over Newcastle.
Arsenal were the common theme again in the record books, as Santi Cazorla laid on four goals in 2010, as the Gunners beat Wigan Athletic 4-1.
It would be another seven years until Harry Kane set up four goals for Son Heung-min, as Tottenham hammered Southampton 5-2. Then, in August 2021, Paul Pogba became the first non-Spurs or Arsenal player to make four assists in a game in Manchester United’s 5-1 demolition of Leeds United.