Kostas Tsimikas hasn’t had a masssive amount of game-time for Liverpool this season, but he’s quietly amassed an eye-catching statistic which sees him outrank some of the best players in Europe.
The 30-year-old was hauled off at half-time in his only Premier League start under Andoni Iraola so far (0-0 v Fulham last month), but he started the Reds’ last two Champions League matches as the head coach shuffled the pack amid a congested fixture list.
The ‘Greek Scouser’ made the most of those opportunities by providing two assists in the 6-3 win over LASK in Austria, followed by another for Alexis Mac Allister against Villarreal on Tuesday night.
Tsimikas joint-second for Champions League assists
Across those two matches alone, the Liverpool left-back has accrued the joint-second most assists of any player in the first three matchdays of this season’s Champions League, as highlighted by UEFA.com.
Only Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal has a higher tally (four), and the Reds’ number 21 is outperforming the likes of Harry Kane, Enzo Fernandez, Desire Doue and Yan Diomande in that respect.
(Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
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What does the future hold for Tsimikas at Liverpool?
Remarkably, in the past eight days, Tsimikas has racked up as many assists as in the previous two seasons combined, with the 30-year-old determined to keep his place in the starting XI on a regular basis ahead of Milos Kerkez.
By his own admission, the Greece international couldn’t wait to get back to Liverpool after a difficult loan spell at Roma last term, and he seems very much at home on Merseyside even though he’s never held down a fixed starting position at Anfield.
His contract will expire at the end of this season, so he and the club will have a major decision to make over the next few months. He’ll turn 31 next May, so even if he is offered a new deal, it’d likely be a relatively short-term one.
For now, all Tsimikas can do is make the most of the opportunities that Iraola hands to him, and he’s done that in our two recent Champions League games.
Whether that’ll be enough to get him in the starting XI for the Anfield clash against Brighton on Sunday – and keep him there over a longer period of time – remains to be seen.