Yusuf Sheikh wins FPL Crown

Yusuf Sheikh has claimed the Fantasy Premier League crown in the closest and most dramatic title race in memory.

The Tanzanian manager sealed his unlikely victory by six points from Fantasy Football Scout member Paul Gee, with long-time leader Bharat Dhody third.

Yusuf was ranked sixth before Sunday, some 33 points behind Bharat at the top.

As such, we had not included him in our earlier round-up of the top five contenders.

And when Marcos Alonso, Dele Alli and Gabriel Jesus were unexpectedly benched, he must have all but written off his chances of challenging for the crown.

But Yusuf’s final day performance was nothing short of remarkable from start to finish.

His final tally of 93 points was some 23 ahead of Paul in second and, incredibly, surpassed Bharat’s Gameweek total by 41.

A Triple Captain chip undoubtedly played a key role in his late surge as he was the only manager in the top ten to still have a chip remaining.

However, Yusuf’s decision to use this on Mohamed Salah had, initially, looked unwise, given that six other managers in the top ten also captained the Egyptian.

They included both Bharat and Paul.

So while Salah helped Yusuf to a 11-point advantage over that pair, the midfielder was by no means the key player in Sunday’s matches.

It was his differentials who really delivered.

That started with Marcus Rashford, who struck an early goal to hand Yusuf an initial boost. No other manager in the top ten owned the Man United striker.

Salah’s goal was then followed by an assist to help Yusuf gain a further edge via his Triple Captain. However, it was surely Lukasz Fabianski’s penalty save at the Liberty Stadium, just a minute later, that catapulted him into contention.

At that point Paul Gee had established a lead, thanks to clean sheets from Burnley pair Matt Lowton and James Tarkowski.

A goal from Wilfried Zaha – a Gameweek 38 signing for Aaron Ramsey – then re-ignited Yusuf’s charge, before the Clarets conceded at Turf Moor to topple Paul from the summit.

With Fabianski, Rashford and Zaha furthering their role as differentials with bonus points, Yusuf also benefited from DeAndre Yedlin’s clean sheet from his bench as both Alonso and Ben Davies failed to be given minutes.

That ensured victory over Paul by just eight points once the bonus points were confirmed.

With 73 points on the day, the runner-up can count himself unfortunate to miss out when Burnley’s clean sheet points were cruelly lost in the closing stages.

Paul’s decision to sell Alli for Salah proved a canny move, but it was ultimately not enough to fire him to the title, having started Sunday 20 points off the pace.

Meanwhile Bharat – who had led the way since Gameweek 21 – suffered an early blow when the teamsheets were revealed.

He was missing seven players, either with injuries or through being benched.

His decision to sell Mahrez, and not Alli, for Salah might also haunt him. The Algerian’s 13 points would have seen him tied at the top, though total transfers (43 v 41) would have eventually settled it in Yusuf’s favour regardless.

And nobody can deny the new champion his glory.

To produce 93 points on the final day – some 23 more than any other rival in the top ten – is a remarkable achievement, and one deserving of winning the FPL crown.

Congratulations to Yusuf on his win, and to all the challengers who helped to produce such a memorable day.

We hope to have further reaction, including interviews with the top managers, over the next few days.