The Jurgen Klopp era has been defined by star full-backs as the Liverpool boss has profited greatly from a pair of world-class defenders on the flanks.
Trent Alexander-Arnold often gets the most headlines for his stellar service into the penalty area, but it’s his counterpart on the opposite side who has set a major Premier League record.
Andrew Robertson, who arrived from Hull City in the summer of 2017 for a paltry £8 million, has become the most prolific defender in Premier League history when it comes to setting up goals, supplying his 54th assist in the competition when he fed Mohamed Salah for the opener against Aston Villa on Boxing Day 2022.
Just five minutes into the match, Alexander-Arnold delivered a sensational ball to Robertson who was streaking down the right side of the penalty area. Robertson then took just one touch to cut left for Salah on the doorstep, and the Egyptian finished the chance.
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada
Most assists by a defender in Premier League history 👑
Congratulations, @andrewrobertso5! pic.twitter.com/B9pxwfWt0x
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 26, 2022
Who has the most assists in Premier League history for a defender?
Andy Robertson’s assist to Mohamed Salah in the fifth minute of the Boxing Day win over Aston Villa gave him 54 assists in his Premier League career.
Just 28 years old, the Scotland international passed Everton legend Leighton Baines for most assists by a defender in Premier League history. Robertson’s record-breaking assist came in his 231st match, needing a whopping 189 fewer games than Baines to reach that mark.
Robertson’s teammate Alexander-Arnold is close behind, sitting third with 45, and he could be a threat to the mark as the years drag on.
Most assists in Premier League history by a defender:
Rank | Player | Assists | Appearances | Clubs |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Andrew Robertson | 54 | 231 | Hull City, Liverpool |
2. | Leighton Baines | 53 | 420 | Wigan Athletic, Everton |
3. | Trent Alexander-Arnold | 45 | 176 | Liverpool |
4. | Graeme Le Seaux | 44 | 327 | Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Southampton |
T-5. | Ian Harte | 36 | 237 | Leeds United, Sunderland, Reading |
T-5. | Andy Hinchcliffe | 36 | 219 | Everton, Sheffield Wednesday |
T-7. | Cesar Azpilicueta | 35 | 334 | Chelsea |
T-7. | Gary Neville | 35 | 400 | Man United |
9. | Dan Petrescu | 33 | 215 | Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea, Bradford City, Southampton |
10. | Kyle Walker | 32 | 343 | Aston Villa, Tottenham, Man City |
Premier League 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
Region | TV | Streaming |
Australia | — | Optus Sport |
Canada | — | |
Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
UK | Sky Sports, BT Sport | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | fuboTV, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).