FCBARCELONA.CAT

07.05.2007 11:31

King of the goal assist

Sandra Sarmiento

Ronaldinho was in magical form against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian, providing the key passes that led to Barça’s two goals. So far this season, he has given a goal assist no less than eight times.

Ronaldinho went back to basics against Real Sociedad. He’s always said that he prefers giving the final pass to scoring the goal himself and that’s exactly what we saw on Saturday – two superb passes that led to Barça’s goals.

The two goals in the Anoeta

The first goal was scored by midfielder Andrés Iniesta after a defence splitting pass from Ronaldinho. The second was even more impressive. From deep inside his own half, Ronaldinho found Samuel Eto’o for the Cameroon striker to make it 0-2 and consolidate Barça’s position at the top of the table.

A total of 8 goal assists

‘Ronnie' is Barça’s top scorer in the league with 17 goals. He’s scored goals of all kinds – from the penalty spot, from free kicks and with his head. His sharpness in front of goal has sustained the team for much of the season in the absence of the injured Eto’o and Messi. However, he’s also made many goals for his team-mates – a total of eight including the two last Saturday.

Eto'o, Iniesta and Messi

Of the 10 goals scored by Samuel Eto'o, three have come from passes from Ronaldinho. Apart from his goal on Saturday, Eto’o converted passes from Ronaldinho against Osasuna in the Camp Nou and in his comeback match against Athletic Bilbao. Ronaldinho provided the final pass for Iniesta to make it 1-3 against Mallorca in the Ono Estadi in Palma, and then another for Santi Ezquerro to put the final result beyond doubt. Leo Messi has also benefited from Ronaldinho’s superb passing skills, with goals against Deportivo (2-1) and against Real Madrid (3-3).