Kevin De Bruyne joins elite group after recording 100 Premier League assists

Football Mad -

Kevin De Bruyne became only the fifth player to record 100 Premier League assists as Manchester City beat Southampton 4-1 on Saturday.

De Bruyne set up Erling Haaland for the seventh time this season, accounting for half of his league-leading tally of 14 and taking him to three figures since his debut with Chelsea in 2013.

The Belgian is comfortably the quickest to reach the landmark and here, Football Mad looks at how he compares.

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs was a creative force for Manchester United (Dave Thompson/PA)

162 assists in 632 appearances, 367 games to reach 100

The former Manchester United winger’s all-time record will remain out of reach for the 31-year-old De Bruyne, and potentially for all comers given his extraordinary longevity.

He recorded at least one assist in each of the Premier League’s first 21 seasons up to 2012-13 and is ahead of his nearest challenger by a staggering 46 per cent margin.

Cesc Fabregas

111 assists in 350 appearances, 293 to reach 100

The Spaniard was the previous record holder for the fewest games to reach three figures in the assist column, having got there by setting up both Gary Cahill and Willian in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Stoke on New Year’s Eve in 2016.

He is one of only seven players to record four assists in a single Premier League game, for Arsenal against Blackburn in October 2009. Remarkably Dennis Bergkamp, Jose Antonio Reyes and Santi Cazorla also did so for the Gunners and Harry Kane and ex-Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor for north London rivals Tottenham. Paul Pogba completes the list, for Manchester United against Leeds last season.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is thanked by Zlatan Ibrahimovic after delivering his 100th Premier League assist (Nick Potts/PA)

103 assists in 491 appearances, 445 to reach 100

Manchester United and England’s record scorer, Rooney trails only Alan Shearer in the Premier League goal chart but was so much more than an out-and-out frontman.

He recorded double figures for both goals and assists in a top-flight season on five occasions, his best combined return being 17 goals and 10 assists in 2013-14. His century came up with two assists in a game for Zlatan Ibrahimovic against Swansea in November 2016.

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard provided goals and assists for Chelsea (Nick Potts/PA)

102 assists in 609 appearances, 559 to reach 100

The highest-scoring non-striker in Premier League history with 177 goals, Lampard ranks sixth overall in that chart and fourth for assists.

He reached a century of the latter during the 19th of his 20 Premier League seasons, his last with Chelsea, before adding his 102nd and last assist during his solitary season with Manchester City.

Kevin De Bruyne

100 assists in 237 appearances

Having managed one assist in his brief spell at Chelsea early in his career, De Bruyne took his game to a new level at Wolfsburg and returned to the Premier League as City’s creative force.

He set up nine goals in his first season with the club and then double figures in all but two seasons under Pep Guardiola’s management. De Bruyne’s 20 assists in the 2019-20 campaign matched the record set by Thierry Henry, for Arsenal in 2002-03, and he also had 18 and 16 in Guardiola’s first two seasons in charge.

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