An assist is the final pass or touch by a teammate that sets up a goal. The official stats only count a touch that reaches the scorer, so a penalty won, a rebound from a saved shot and an own goal earn nothing, while Fantasy Premier League gives an assist for all three.
That makes a big difference. FPL gave out 930 assists in the 2025/2026 Premier League, 219 more than the 711 in the match stats.
The rule behind the Premier League's official stats, set by Opta, credits the final touch by a teammate that leads to the scorer receiving the ball and scoring. It can be a pass, a cross, a header or a mishit shot that runs to a teammate.
A deflection off an opponent does not cancel the assist, as long as the ball was already going to the scorer. There is no assist for an own goal, a goal straight from a free kick or a corner, or a penalty, unless the taker passes it for a teammate to score. Winning a penalty, or having a shot saved before a teammate scores the rebound, does not count either.
Fantasy Premier League gives an assist to the last player on the scoring side to touch the ball before a goal, whether they meant to set it up or not, and adds the cases the official stats leave out:
The deflection and handball rules were loosened for 2025/2026: the Premier League said they would have added 41 assists the season before. They still apply in 2026/2027.
Every extra case adds up over a season. Dango Ouattara had three assists in the 2025/2026 match stats and eight in FPL, helped by winning six penalties for Brentford, and Evanilson had two and seven for Bournemouth. Bruno Fernandes led both counts, with 21 and 24.
So a player's FPL assists can run well ahead of their assists in the match stats. For judging a creator, the match stats and xA are the steadier guide; for FPL points, the FPL count is the one that pays.
Updated 8 November 2026, after the last game
| Rank | Player | Club | Appearances | Minutes | Assists | FPL assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Declan Rice | Arsenal | 10 | 827 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | Pascal Groß | Brighton & Hove Albion | 10 | 881 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | John McGinn | Aston Villa | 10 | 794 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Evanilson | AFC Bournemouth | 10 | 843 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Josko Gvardiol | Manchester City | 10 | 702 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Ben White | Arsenal | 7 | 535 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Morgan Gibbs-White | Nottingham Forest | 9 | 810 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | Cody Gakpo | Liverpool | 8 | 604 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Daichi Kamada | Crystal Palace | 10 | 882 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | Mohammed Kudus | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 537 | 3 | 3 |
Premier League assists, all 122 players
The pass before the assist, sometimes called a secondary or hockey assist, earns nothing in the official stats or in FPL. Only the last touch before the goal counts.
Together with assists, key passes make up a player's chances created. Chances created vs key passes
Assists depend on the finish and xA does not, so a creator still gets credit when a teammate misses. How xA is calculated
Not in the official stats, which never give an assist for a penalty unless the taker passes it. In Fantasy Premier League it does: the player who wins the penalty gets the assist if a teammate scores it, but not if they take it themselves.
Not in the official stats, where an own goal never has an assist. Fantasy Premier League gives one to the player whose shot or pass forced the own goal, unless another opponent deflected the ball on the way.
Three points, for a player in any position. An assist also scores nine in the bonus points system, which decides who gets the one, two or three bonus points in each match.
Every player's assists, in total and per 90, in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.