Süper Lig Key Passes 2026/27: Gabriel Sara and Mohamed Salah Lead a Two-Man Race
After seven matches, Galatasaray's Gabriel Sara has 27 key passes and Trabzonspor's Mohamed Salah has 23. Nobody else in the Süper Lig table is above 15. Here are the numbers, what separates the two and whether this race can last all season.
A key pass is a pass that leads directly to a shot by a teammate, and it is the cleanest public measure of who creates chances. In the Süper Lig this season two players are far ahead of everyone else: Galatasaray's Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Sara and Trabzonspor's Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, who joined from Liverpool in the summer. Both have played exactly 558 minutes in seven matches, which makes the comparison unusually clean.
Key findings
- Sara leads, Salah is close. Sara has 27 key passes and Salah 23 after seven matches each. The next player in the table, Çorum FK's Anastasios Kyziridis, has 15.
- Identical minutes. Both have played 558 minutes, so the per-90 figures are 4.35 for Sara and 3.71 for Salah.
- Salah finishes what he creates. He has 7 goals and 3 assists, which makes 10 goal contributions in seven games, a Süper Lig record according to The National.
- Sara creates more, converts less. Two of his 27 key passes became assists (7%), against three of Salah's 23 (13%). Sara has 2 goals and 2 assists in total.
- It is still early. Seven matches is a small sample, and a few games can reorder the top of this table.
The race so far
Here are the six players with the most key passes in Chronos Score's Süper Lig stats table after seven rounds, with the per-90 rate worked out from their minutes.
| Player | Club | Apps | Minutes | Key passes | Per 90 | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Sara | Galatasaray | 7 | 558 | 27 | 4.35 | 2 |
| Mohamed Salah | Trabzonspor | 7 | 558 | 23 | 3.71 | 3 |
| A. Kyziridis | Çorum FK | 5 | 424 | 15 | 3.18 | 3 |
| D. Sabia | Amed | 7 | 598 | 14 | 2.11 | 0 |
| M. Greenwood | Fenerbahçe | 7 | 530 | 11 | 1.87 | 2 |
| O. Aydın | Fenerbahçe | 7 | 298 | 11 | 3.32 | 3 |
The shape of the table matters more than the order. Sara and Salah are 12 and 8 key passes clear of third place, and no one else reaches even three per 90 minutes on a regular workload. Fenerbahçe's Aydın has a high rate, but it rests on only 298 minutes.
Gabriel Sara: the volume creator
Sara joined Galatasaray from Norwich City in 2024 and plays as a central midfielder. His 27 key passes in seven matches are an average of nearly four per game, and he has added 14 shots, six on target, plus two goals and two assists. His most notable moment so far was the free kick that won Galatasaray a 3-2 away game at Başakşehir on 4 September.
His numbers also sit alongside a busy attack. Victor Osimhen has 30 shots and 17 on target, both league-high figures in our table, while Sara's key passes are the highest. The two fit together, although the data does not tell us how many of Osimhen's shots came from Sara's passes.
Mohamed Salah: creator and finisher
Salah left Liverpool in the summer and was unveiled by Trabzonspor on 6 August. His start has been historic: 7 goals and 3 assists in seven matches, level with Gift Orban at the top of the scoring chart and level with several players at the top of the assists chart. His assist for Francolino in the 3-0 win over Samsunspor on 10 October made it 10 goal contributions in seven games, a Süper Lig record.
What sets him apart is that he does both jobs. He has 18 shots, 11 of them on target, an average rating of 8.01 and 23 key passes. Trabzonspor were fifth, three points behind leaders Galatasaray, when The National reported on the league on 12 October, and had beaten Galatasaray 4-0 before the international break.
Can it last all season?
Honestly, nobody can say yet. Seven matches is a small slice of a league season, and key-pass counts move with a team's possession, the opponents it meets and whether a player keeps his place. A lead of four over Salah could vanish in two games.
There are reasons to expect both to stay near the top. Each is the main creative outlet for an attacking team, each plays most of every match, and the gap to third place is large. The most credible chasers are Kyziridis, at 3.18 per 90, and Aydın, at 3.32, but both would need many more minutes to keep that rate over a season.
What to watch next: injuries and rotation, European and international duty that changes minutes, and whether Salah's high scoring pulls him away from creating. We will keep the numbers updated in our live Süper Lig table.
Source: API-Football, via the Süper Lig player stats table on Chronos Score, after seven rounds on 16 October 2026. A key pass is a pass that leads directly to a teammate's shot. The table covers the league's leading goal scorers, so players outside it are not included. Salah record and standings: The National, 12 October 2026.
Related Content
Premier League 2026/27: How Have the New Managers Started?
MLS and the USMNT: How 30 Years of American Soccer Shaped the 2026 World Cup Team
