The 2022/23 Champions League campaign has been a thriller, with some incredible goals being scored throughout the tournament and some of the world's best players strutting their stuff.
While goals understandably tend to get the most attention, sometimes the assists can be even more satisfying and require even more skill.
Players such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have burst onto the scene and thrived early in the tournament, whilst established stars like Neymar have been showing why they are revered all over the world.
Here are our 10 favourite assists of the 2022/23 Champions League season.
10. Phil Foden vs Real Madrid
There had to be at least one entry from the eventual winners of the tournament, especially given how they were so undisputedly better than everyone else this season. This goal showed why you can never ever relax against Manchester City.
When the ball comes into Phil Foden during this semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, he has his back to goal and there are three defenders between him and the goal. There isn't zero danger, but it's manageable. He then turns and slides the ball through for Julian Alvarez in a split second and Los Blancos are undone.
9. Roberto Firmino vs Rangers
This was very Brazilian of him. It is the kind of assist that, yes, could have been done without the trickery and the end result would have been the same. But if we stop praising and getting excited about moments like this, they'll disappear from the game.
Roberto Firmino has always got a trick in him, especially when Liverpool are purring. This clever flick to set up Darwin Nunez against Rangers was perfectly executed.
8. Chancel Mbemba vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Not a player that you would necessarily expect to be on this list, but when a cross as good as this one is swung in from such a distance, it has to be praised. The former Newcastle defender is not known for his attacking output, after all.
Against Eintracht Frankfurt, he put in a cross for Matteo Guendouzi that David Beckham would have been proud of. The arc of the ball was exactly how you would draw it and he took four defenders completely out of the equation. Marseille did still go on to lose the game though. You can find the assist at 00:47 in the video.
7. Angel Di Maria vs Maccabi Haifa
Angel Di Maria's time at Juventus may have been short and sweet, but the Argentine produced some really impressive moments, showing why he has been at such a high level for so long.
After driving through part of the Maccabi Haifa midfield in the group stage, he played a perfect arcing pass to Dusan Vlahovic who had held his run really well.
6. Neymar Jr vs Juventus
Even if Paris Saint-Germain did not conquer Europe come June, there had to be an appearance from Neymar Jr in this list.
Linking up with Kylian Mbappe as usual, Neymar received the ball, turned, spotted Mbappe's run and perfectly lifted the ball over the Juventus defence for the Frenchman to run onto and smash into the back of the net. The assist is at 00:24 in the above video.
5. Serge Gnabry vs Barcelona
Barcelona are sick at the sight of Bayern Munich. Everyone remembers the 8-2 mauling, but they met in the group stage in the last two years as well, with Xavi's side twice dumped into the Europa League. Their final game of this campaign was at home against Bayern and within 10 minutes, they had been carved open.
Serge Gnabry received the ball in midfield and quickly played a long-range pass with the outside of his foot which completely sliced Barcelona open and allowed Sadio Mane to run free and open the scoring in a 3-0 win. The goal is at 00:20 in the above video.
4. Jordan Henderson vs Ajax
While carefully crafted assists are not what we primarily associate with Jordan Henderson's play, it is certainly something that he has in his locker. He has shown it on a few occasions for Liverpool over the years and he really showed it against Ajax in the group stage.
Having won the ball on the left wing, he looked up and spotted a run from Mohamed Salah and while under pressure from two defenders, he played a superb outside-of-the-foot pass to the Egyptian to convert. Kevin De Bruyne would have been proud of that one.
3. Rafael Leao vs Napoli
This goal actually featured on our best goals of the Champions League list and it was there primarily because of Rafael Leao's work. The Portuguese forward is one of the best dribblers in the game and when he hits full speed, there is no defender that can stop him.
That proved to be the case against Napoli as he ran the length of the pitch with the ball before giving it to Olivier Giroud for a tap-in. It was the crucial goal to help take Milan to the semi-final.
2. Joao Cancelo vs Borussia Dortmund
This could very easily have been number one, and the goal itself has been widely regarded as the best of the tournament. Joao Cancelo may have left Manchester City under a dark cloud in January, but he was very important in the early stages of the competition
To pull off a trivela assist like this which is then acrobatically slammed into the back of the net by Erling Haaland is some feat, and will go down as some of the Portuguese defender's best-ever work.
1. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia vs Eintracht Frankfurt
It was been an incredible first season in the Champions League for Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia, and this was perhaps his crowning moment. There are so many different elements of this assist that can be praised.
Having been involved already in the move, Kvaratskhelia received a vertical pass from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa whilst on the turn, which was impressive by itself. He then showed ridiculous awareness in a split second to back-heel the ball to the space that Giovanni Di Lorenzo was about to run into. The Italian swept it into the back of the net and Napoli were 2-0 up in Germany. The goal is at 03:19 in the video above.
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This article was originally published on 90min as WATCH: The best assists of the 2022/23 Champions League.
