Expected goals and assists Europe's top 5 leagues : Osimhen ranks higher than Messi 

Transfermarkt in conjunction with Statsbomb has revealed the top twenty one players with the best average expected goals and assists rating so far in the 2022-2023 season, with two Nigeria internationals making the cut. 

According to football statistics website FBREF, xG (or expected goals) is the probability that a shot will result in a goal based on the characteristics of that shot and the events leading up to it, while xA, or expected assists, indicates a player's ability to set up scoring chances without having to rely on the actual result of the shot or the shooter's luck/ability.

With 0.96 non-penalty expected goals and assists,  Victor Osimhen is the top ranked player in the Serie A and sixth overall. 

Osimhen's expected goals per ninety is 0.85 (third overall in the rating) and expected assists 0.11. 

The Super Eagles star is between Premier League's top scorer Erling Braut Haaland and PSG superstar Lionel Messi in the ranking.
 

The Norwegian's expected goals and assists is 1.08 placing him joint fourth with Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller, and the Argentine is in seventh place at 0.95.

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (1.34), PSG duo Kylian Mbappe (1.16) and Neymar (1.12) are the top three rated players. 

The other Nigerian representative in the top twenty is Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman, who is sixteenth with an expected goals and assists total of 0.81.

In reality, Osimhen has contributed to four goals (3 goals, 1 assist) in six Serie A matches this term, while Lookman has registered seven goal involvements (4 goals, 3 assists) in ten games. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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