Lionel Messi beats his assists record in La Liga in a season
He is two away from equalling Xavi's record total of 21 in a season
Lionel Messi didn't score at the Ceramic stadium in Barcelona's 4-1 win over Villarreal, given VAR ruled out his strike, but he still added two assists.
That takes him to 19 points, his record in a single campaign, since breaking into the first team in 2004-05.
The captain is only two away from equalling Xavi Hernandez, his team-mate for 11 seasons and now Al-Sadd coach in Qatar. Xavi got 21 in the 2008-09 season, a record in La Liga.
Until now, Messi has managed a best of 18 assists in the 10-11, 11-12 and 14-15 seasons. He's got four games to go, if he doesn't get a suspension, to reach Xavi's record.
Messi, who also has 630 goals in 725 games, has been most generous to Luis Suarez, whom he has set up for seven goals. Griezmann follows on three and then Ansu on two.
He has also provided one each for Arturo Vidal, De Jong, Busquets, Lenglet, Braithwaite, Jordi Alba and Rakitic.
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