Bizarre De Bruyne footage shows why fans are convinced Bruno is still 2 away from PL assist record

The player thinks the same thing

The Portuguese midfielder set up a goal for the 20th time this season in the 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.

According to official Premier League stats, the 31-year-old matched the record of two Premier League greats, Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, in setting up Mbeumo’s goal.

The feat was achieved by Henry in 2002/03 and De Bruyne in the 2019/20 season.

Win €/£1,000 in our FREE Win-Lose-Draw Predictor
In the age of stats geeks, AI-generated Fantasy teams and nth-degree analysis, we've stripped football knowledge down to its most instinctual form: Win, Lose or Draw.
In JOE's new Premier League Win-Lose-Draw Predictor, you can prove your footballing nous up against your mates, while also being in with a chance of winning €1,000/£1,000 each week.
And if no users predict all results correctly, EVERY player who submitted an entry will be placed into a random prize draw for the €1,000/£1,000.
Play below for the Sunday's final-day fixtures! It takes just a few minutes to enter...

“Everyone knew that it was important that I could get another assist at least”.

“They (my team-mates) have been trying everything that they can to score from my passes”, Fernandes told Sky Sports after the match.

“There were probably moments today that I should have passed instead of shot, but I'm very happy for this assist”.

He was very close to breaking the record when Diogo Dalot hit the post in stoppage time.

The chance is still there for the final match of the season though, as the Red Devils captain could still break the record of 21 assists in a single Premier League season.

Football fans (and De Bruyne himself) aren’t convinced he actually equalled it

Fans on social media have pointed that an assist from De Bruyne was “stolen”, which he provided against Arsenal at the Emirates.

Such a claim was even backed by the player himself.

“They still took away one away against Arsenal for me”, De Bruyne said in an interview, referring to the 2019/20 season.

“They did. And then when they celebrated my hundredth assist they put it as the first clip in the video”, he added.

The Belgian challenged the Premier League decision to take away his “assist” against Arsenal that season, adding that “I don't know why they did it, I still don't understand it.”

But he will have been equally as confused when the Premier League took another “assist” against Arsenal away from him, this time in a home game.

De Bruyne’s forward ball towards Sterling was intercepted by Arsenal's David Luiz, but the defender could only push the ball further into Sterling's path.

As he took to X (Twitter) after the game, De Bruyne “corrected” two Premier League tweets claiming he remained on 16 assists, as he felt he was actually on 18.

“9 plus 18 is 27”, he tweeted at the time.

Most PL assists in single season by any player according to Premier League

As per official Premier League stats, Bruno, De Bruyne and Henry are now equal with 20 each in a single season.

They're followed by Mesut Ozil with 19, while Frank Lampard, Cesc Fabregas and Mohamed Salah are on 18 each.

Full list of most assists in a single season

*After 37 matches, with one remaining.