Post-Nantes, focus on Angel Di Maria's stats!
After picking up another two assists against FC Nantes, the Paris Saint-Germain forward once again demonstrated the quality of his left foot.
On Tuesday, Thomas Tuchel's side beat FC Nantes (1-2) at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Matchday 23 of Ligue 1. And although it was Mauro Icardi and Thilo Kehrer who got their names onto the scoresheet, Angel Di Maria stood out and added another two assists to his tally for the season.
The opportunity for the Argentine to strengthen his position as the player with the most assists in the league this season, with no less than 10 assists in Ligue 1 (3 more than his closest rival, Islam Slimani). A total that rises to 16 assists in all competitions since the start of the season.
But this isn't a one off. In fact, since Di Maria arrived in Paris in August 2015, the Rosario-born forward hasn't stopped showing his quality every time he graces the pitch. In total, the n°11 boasts 82 assists in the Red and Blue shirt. A tally that is at least double that of any other player in the capital, making him by far the best provider of goals in the QSI era.
In the league, El Fideo dominates the stats. He has picked up 52 assists in Ligue 1 since arriving in Paris, that's 20 more than any other player over the same period.
When speaking to the club's official programme, he looked back over this stand-out season: "During training, I try difficult things to see if they would work during the match. I say to myself that every year it is possible to learn new things. This year for example, I have picked up several assists with the outside of the boot, and when you manage to do that kind of thing once, you look to reproduce it again, and it worked in the Champions League and in Ligue 1."
But it's not only in the assists rankings that Angel Di Maria excels. The Parisian forward has also found the back of the net on 15 occasions this season across all competitions. In the league, he also stands out in other areas, as he is the player that has created the most clear-cut opportunities (23) and has the second highest number of dribbles in the league (63) behind Neymar Jr (80).
The cherry on the cake? After being the most used player by Thomas Tuchel last season, the Argentine is once again the most used Parisian during the 2019-2020 season, with no less than 31 matches played in all competitions (2451 minutes in total).