Mauricio shines as Palmeiras’ assist king, nears Veiga’s record | OneFootball

Mauricio was hired by Palmeiras last season, but it seems like he's been at the club for ages. The midfielder has established himself as one of Palmeiras' main playmakers and is close to reaching the assist record of none other than Raphael Veiga.

Last Monday, for example, Mauricio contributed with another assist in Verdão's 3-0 victory over Sport at Allianz Parque, in the Brazilian Championship. The number 18 delivered a perfect cross to the far post, and Gustavo Gómez headed it into the goal.

With the assist against Sport, Mauricio reached his seventh assist of the current season and got closer to the mark of Palmeiras' top assistant in 2025: Raphael Veiga. The alviverde idol, however, is dealing with pubic pain and is currently out of action.

Thus, Mauricio can continue to take advantage of the ‘gap’ to establish himself as Palmeiras' top playmaker of the year. Veiga has eight assists in 2025 – meaning only one assist separates the two midfielders.

Veiga's assists this season were mainly recorded in the Paulista Championship. He had seven assists in the State Championship and only one in the Brasileirão. On the other hand, Mauricio's assists came in both championships, as well as in the Club World Cup and the Libertadores.

Mauricio distributed assists against Santos (Paulista), Bolívar and Sporting Cristal (Libertadores), Al Ahly (World Cup), and Grêmio, Ceará, and Sport (Brasileirão).

With Veiga at the top and Mauricio in second place, Estêvão, now at Chelsea, still appears as the third top assistant in the ranking. He shares the spot with Piquerez, as both contributed with five assists this season.

Mauricio's performances as a ‘playmaker’ have earned him many assists, but his goal-scoring phase has been ‘set aside’. The number 18, who started the season as one of the team's main scorers, has shifted to contributing more with passes.

Recently, the midfielder even completed a month without scoring. The last time Mauricio scored for Palmeiras was in the match against Fluminense, on July 23. On that occasion, Verdão defeated the Carioca rival 2-1 at Maracanã.

With Mauricio available, Palmeiras returns to the field this Sunday, facing Corinthians. The match kicks off at 6:30 PM (Brasília time) at Neo Química Arena, for the 22nd round of the Brasileirão.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.