The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch.
One of the best ball-playing goalkeepers of his generation is Manchester City's Ederson, who now holds the record for the most Premier League assists by a goalkeeper in the division's history.
The Brazilian registered his record-breaking sixth Premier League assist in Man City's dominant 4-0 home victory over Newcastle United on Saturday, setting up their first goal scored by hat-trick hero Omar Marmoush with a perfectly-weighted long-range pass.
Ederson has become the first goalkeeper in Premier League history to provide three assists in the same campaign, and he has remarkably registered more assists this season than City playmaker Phil Foden (two).
Man City's No.31 is not the only goalkeeper to have set up goals over the years, and here, Sports Mole takes a look at the top nine goalkeepers with the most Premier League assists, all of whom have recorded at least three assists.
=5. Peter Schmeichel
Assists: 3
Aug 14, 1992 | Sheffield United 2-1 Manchester United | Goalscorer: Mark Hughes (61st minute)
Feb 05, 1994 | Queens Park Ranger 2-3 Manchester United | Goalscorer: Andrei Kanchelskis (18th minute)
Dec 20, 1996 | Manchester United 5-0 Sunderland | Goalscorer: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (48th minute)
Goals: 1
Oct 10, 2001 | Everton 3-2 Aston Villa (90th minute)
=5. Mark Crossley
Assists: 3
Oct 08, 1994 | Manchester City 3-3 Nottingham Forest | Goalscorer: Stan Collymore (51st minute)
Dec 30, 1994 | West Ham United 3-1 Nottingham Forest | Goalscorer: Paul McGregor (90th minute)
Nov 27, 2005 | Fulham 2-1 Bolton Wanderers | Goalscorer: Brian McBride (18th minute)
=5. Jussi Jaaskelainen
Assists: 3
Jan 02, 2008 | Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Derby County | Goalscorer: Stelios Giannakopoulos (91st minute)
Sep 13, 2008 | Fulham 2-1 Bolton Wanderers | Goalscorer: Kevin Davies (82nd minute)
Jan 01, 2014 | Fulham 2-1 West Ham United | Goalscorer: Mohamed Diame (7th minute)
=5. Tim Howard
Assists: 3
Dec 06, 2003 | Manchester United 4-0 Aston Villa | Goalscorer: Diego Forlan (90th minute)
Nov 24, 2007 | Everton 7-1 Sunderland | Goalscorer: Yakubu (12th minute)
Sep 30, 2013 | Everton 3-2 Newcastle United | Goalscorer: Romelu Lukaku (37th minute)
Goals: 1
Jan 04, 2012 | Everton 2-1 Bolton Wanderers (63rd minute)
=5. Alisson Becker
Assists: 3
Jan 19, 2020 | Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United | Goalscorer: Mohamed Salah (93rd minute)
Feb 19, 2022 | Liverpool 3-1 Norwich City | Goalscorer: Mohamed Salah (67th minute)
Oct 16, 2022 | Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City | Goalscorer: Mohamed Salah (76th minute)
Goals: 1
May 16, 2021 | West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Liverpool (95th minute)
=3. David Seaman
Assists: 4
Aug 28, 1993 | Arsenal 2-0 Everton | Goalscorer: Ian Wright (78th minute)
Dec 29, 1993 | Arsenal 3-0 Sheffield United | Goalscorer: Kevin Campbell (55th minute)
Oct 08, 1994 | Wimbledon 1-3 Arsenal | Goalscorer: Ian Wright (11th minute)
Oct 25, 1996 | Arsenal 3-0 Leeds United | Goalscorer: Dennis Bergkamp (5th minute)
=3. Pepe Reina
Assists: 4
Nov 10, 2007 | Liverpool 2-0 Fulham | Goalscorer: Fernando Torres (81st minute)
Mar 14, 2009 | Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool | Goalscorer: Andrea Dossena (91st minute)
Mar 22, 2009 | Liverpool 5-0 Aston Villa | Goalscorer: Albert Riera (33rd minute)
Mar 28, 2010 | Liverpool 3-0 Sunderland | Goalscorer: Fernando Torres (3rd minute)
2. Paul Robinson
Assists: 5
May 01, 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Aston Villa | Goalscorer: Frederic Kanoute (6th minute)
Apr 15, 2007 | Wigan Athletic 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur | Goalscorer: Robbie Keane (68th minute)
Oct 04, 2009 | Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers | Goalscorer: Steven Nzonzi (4th minute)
Sep 18, 2010 | Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Fulham | Goalscorer: Christopher Samba (30th minute)
Mar 19, 2011 | Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Blackpool | Goalscorer: Junior Hoilett (93rd minute)
Goals: 1
Mar 17, 2007 | Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Watford (63rd minute)
1. Ederson
Assists: 6
Aug 19, 2018 | Manchester City 6-1 Huddersfield Town| Goalscorer: Sergio Aguero (25th minute)
Feb 13, 2021 | Manchester City 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur | Goalscorer: Ilkay Gundogan (66th minute)
Oct 22, 2022 | Manchester City 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion | Goalscorer: Erling Haaland (22nd minute)
Sep 14, 2024 | Manchester City 2-1 Brentford | Goalscorer: Erling Haaland (32nd minute)
Jan 25, 2025 | Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea | Goalscorer: Erling Haaland (68th minute)
Feb 15, 2025 | Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle | Goalscorer: Omar Marmoush (24th minute)
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