Yeah, that game is definitely not representative though, to be fair. But, in general, Xavi’s 2004-2005 season is sorely underrated—he was absolutely world-class that year. Which is, for instance, why he won La Liga Spanish Player of the Year and made multiple ESM teams of the month.
PDG just posted a link of this post from 2012 and I think it's worth to post here (if weren't posted already) Just to update the numbers from Messi and Ronaldo: C. Ronaldo 41 assists, 183 games (0.224) L. Messi 40 assists, 163 games (0.245)
Yeah, another place I made some posts on the topic was here (you saw already Isaias though because I spotted a rep from you on one of the posts again just now!) - data according to the particular sources involved in compiling it, such as in this post https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/top-5-individual-performance-in-cl-history.2124240/#post-41111178 For sure on a per game basis Zidane fares very well for CL assists (less so in league games overall to be fair, as has been discussed before I know).
Also it was your thread to be fair (I'd forgotten that)! But yeah Puck's listing was pretty much correct according to OPTA-standards I believe (maybe one or two cases where an assist can or can't be given could mean small differences IIRC....).
I think a good question is are there more assisted goals in todays football than other periods of time and regardless, what the profile of assists look like (I assume more assists came from crosses in the past).
I had even forgotten about this thread lol. I think I'll repost Carlito's post about the best campaigns of CL finalists on Sofascore in this thread
Zidane had unmatched ability of getting the ball to the final 3rd. From simple pass and move, to ball carrying/dribbling. Strong in all phases of the game, and sides of the pitch. pic.twitter.com/zXgp3DfFBB— Kylian's Kompany (@someballfacts) May 12, 2024
Zinédine Zidane : all big chances created in UEFA Champions League (1996-2006)detailed thread, will be regularly updated pic.twitter.com/PJpOCGiWIg— Fußballkönig (@GyurkaSarosi) June 8, 2024 Zinédine Zidane - JuventusUEFA Champions League (1996-2001)𝟑𝟓 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 (𝟑𝟏.𝟔 𝟗𝟎𝐬)𝟑𝟕 𝐁𝐂𝐂𝟐 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝟏.𝟏𝟕 𝐁𝐂𝐂 𝐩𝟗𝟎𝟏.𝟐𝟑 𝐁𝐂𝐂 + 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝟗𝟎 pic.twitter.com/U2RLzFbk2v— Fußballkönig (@GyurkaSarosi) June 9, 2024