FCBARCELONA.CAT

22.05.2007 16:24

Eto'o has seven assists this season

Aleix Santacana

Samuel Eto'o was one of the stars of FC Barcelona's historic victory over Atlético de Madrid on Sunday as he set up three goals to take his assists tally to seven for the season.

That hat-trick of passes means that the Cameroonian striker now has an average of one assist every two matches for the Blaugrana and it could have been more had it not been for the injury that saw him miss five months of the current campaign. Eto'o has played in 16 of the 35 league games so far and is only just behind Ronaldinho, who has eight assists.

Making Atlético pay

Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Andrés Iniesta all benefitted from Eto'o's generosity in the Vicente Calderón at the weekend as he supplied the crucial pass for all their goals. It showed how much of a team player the former Real Mallorca star is.

7 assists in 16 games

Eto'o's first assist of the season came in the second game when Barça played Osasuna. He picked up possession in front of goal and fed Messi perfectly. Two weeks later, against Valencia, he set up Iniesta for a goal.

In his first game back after injury, Eto'o continued where he left off. As well as scoring a goal himself, he also set up Xavi. The last assist came in the clash with Real Madrid in Camp Nou, when Eto'o picked out Messi in the first half as the Argentinian continued on his way to a memorable hat-trick.

Messi and Iniesta benefit

Of the ten goals that Messi has scored this season, three of them have been set up by Eto'o. The Barça youngster is the greatest benfeactor of the striker's vision. Iniesta is just behind as he has been set up for two of his six goals this term, while Xavi and Ronaldinho have received one pass that led to a goal.