Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi is second only to Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne in terms of the number of great opportunities created in the league this season.
According to WhoScored, De Bruyne has created 24 big chances in the Premier League this season in 25 appearances. Meanwhile, Messi has created 22 big chances in 22 matches in Ligue 1.
Both players topped the support rankings of their respective leagues. De Bruyne has 12 assists, while Messi has 13 assists. The PSG attacker is averaging 2.7 vital passes per game in the league, while the Manchester City player leads the way with 3.2 vital passes per game.
However, Lionel Messi is far ahead of Kevin De Bruyne at a certain distance on the scoring chart. La Pulga has scored 13 goals in Ligue 1 this season, while the Belgian has only scored 4 in this competition.
Notably, Messi is the only non-Premier League player in the above list announced by WhoScored. Following De Bruyne and the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner are Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Newcastle United’s Kieran Trippier and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
PSG’s Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne have experienced contrasting nights in the UEFA Champions League this month
Lionel Messi‘S PSG And Kevin De Bruyne‘S City of Manchester considered two of the favorites to win the UEFA Champions League each season. These two players are undeniably key to their hopes of lifting the famous trophy for the first time.
While Messi failed to inspire PSG to a Champions League round of 16 win over Bayern Munich, De Bruyne played the main role as City demolished Leipzig.
La Pulga and the Parisians who traveled to Germany for the second leg last week, need to reverse the 1-0 loss. He scored three crucial passes, but only one shot on target, successfully completed only two of his six dribbles and lost the ball 19 times as his side suffered a 0-2 defeat.
That means PSG are knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 for the fifth time in seven years and for the second time in a row since signing Lionel Messi.
Meanwhile, Manchester City played the second leg of the Round of 16 on Tuesday (March 14), with a 1-1 draw after the first leg in Germany. Erling Haaland starred with five goals to help City win 7-0, but De Bruyne showed it from midfield.
In addition to an unbelievable goal in the second half of injury time, the Belgian player launched 4 important passes, of which 2 great opportunities were created. He completed two of his four dribbles, one hit the woodwork (with Haaland scoring the rebound) and won four of his seven duels.
