Europe's 'Big Five' End of Season Leaders: Key Passes

Key passes is a good statistic to showcase the active playmakers within the season. Combined with direct assists, shot and goal creating actions, you can get a full picture of the best playmakers.

Previously, we have looked at the leaders of Europe's top five leagues for tackles and goal contributions. Today, we are going to look at the leaders for key passes.

Key passes are a good measure for a playmaker. It doesn't mean a pass that contributes to a goal, but instead it is a pass that directly led to a shot. It is also known as an assisted shot. Sure, that may sound a little silly, but for the players on this list, it is an example of how they were able to create chances for their team.

Without further ado, let's get into the top 10.

 

Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes) - 121

Benjamin Bourigeaud from Rennes had a career year last season. He tallied more goals than he had done previously in a season, but more importantly and more relevant to this list, he totalled more assists than he has done before in his career with 12. That's the same amount in one season than he had in his previous three seasons combined.

Bourigeaud has a strong lead in this category, leading the list by 13. He also features on the top 10 list for shot-creating actions, with a total of 170 that puts him in joint fourth for that stat. 

 

Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao) - 108

Another player who had something of a career year, Iker Muniain posted over double the assists his previous best total was with 10. That equals his amount from the previous four years combined.

The last few years have been largely disappointing for Athletic Bilbao. For Muniain, having a career year and yet still not finding themselves anywhere near European competition will be frustrating.

On top of his assists and key passes total, Muniain also ranked joint second with Kylian Mbappe for shot-creating actions with 172.

 

Dimitri Payet (Marseille) - 101

At 35 years old, Dimitri Payet is the oldest player on this list. Yet despite being in the twilight of his career, he just had one of his best seasons. 12 goals scored is his second most in a season, while his 10 assists matches his rate form the year before and is the fifth most in his career.

He also ranks at the top of the shot-creating list with 188, a clear 16 ahead of Muniain and Mbappe. And with that, he also ranks at the top for SCA per 90 minutes, with a rate of 6.53.

 

Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter) - 91

Hakan Calhanoglu moved from the red side of Milan to the blue side, but did so at the worst time. After Inter won the league title the season prior, he jumped to their side to attempt the repeat. Instead, his former imployers of AC Milan went and won their first league title in 11 years.

Nevertheless, it wasn't Calhanoglu's fault for Inter not being to retain their title. He had his best year since moving to Italy five years ago, scoring the second most goals with seven and recording the most assists with 12.

He also features in the top 10 SCA list, with a total of 151, which puts him in seventh, and a SCA90 of 5.48 which puts him in ninth.

 

Filip Kostic (Frankfurt) - 89

Frankfurt had a fairly disappointing season this year after experiencing a nice run of leagues finished for the previous three seasons. A big part of their success in those years was due to Filip Kostic's top efforts, so it's no surprise that a slightly quieter year form him this year contributed to the less-than-ideal 11th place finish.

Kostic scored four goals for the third year running, but got only nine assists, the lowest amount he has totalled in a Frankfurt shirt.

 

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 89

Liverpool's quest for the quadruple ended up coming quite short, but it wasn't without a strong effort from the whole team. Trent Alexander-Arnold has spent years solidifying himself as one of, if not the best right backs in the world. After a fairly disappointing year the season prior, he set about reminding people this year.

Two goals is the standard, he is not expected to be scoring loads, but 12 assists is his joint second best. He also ranks eighth for SCA with 150.

As the only defender on this list, he regularly shows his quality from his position, being able to efficiently provide for his Liverpool teammates on the attack while also playing his part of the defense.

 

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - 88

Manchester United had a very disappointing year when it was suggested that they should be able to take the next step forward and start challenging for the title. And like Kostic earlier, a part of why they underperformed can be attributed to one of their main men in Bruno Fernandes having a quieter year.

Bruno scored 10 goals and picked up six assists. That's his second most goals in a United shirt but the third most assists. Bear in mind that he has been with the club for two and a half seasons, and that half season when he joined, he tallied eight goals and seven assists in 14 games. This year, he managed 10 goals and six assists in 36 games.

He did still rank in the top 10 for SCA, filling out the list in the 10th place spot with 145.

 

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - 88

One of the best players on the planet right now, Kevin De Bruyne changed his game and stepped up as Manchester City's primary goal scorer after Sergio Aguero left the side prior to the season.

KDB managed 15 goals, more than he'd even scored before, as well as eight assists. That assist total is his second least in his Man City career, but that won't matter for him as he took up that new role.

Even still, he ranks highly on this list for key passes made, and also features on the SCA90 list with 5.68, which has him fifth, and is quite surprising considering he doesn't feature in the top 10 for SCA.

 

Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) - 83

Joshua Kimmich played a big part in Bayern Munich achieving their 10th successive Bundesliga title. He did so by chipping in with three goals and nine assists. No new records for himself, but a solid year nonetheless.

Unlike any other player on this list, Kimmich is very much a defensive player. But he is also a strong passer, and is able to handle pressure very well.

 

Nabil Fekir (Real Betis) - 83

Nabil Fekir had a nice year this past season, racking up six goals and eight assists. Like Kimmich, it was nothing special in terms of his career bests, but it did help Betis to fifth place, their best league position finish for 17 years. 

On top of rounding out this list for key passes, he also features in sixth place for shot-creating actions with 161.