Manchester United equalled their worst-ever start to a Premier League season as they were beaten by West Ham on Saturday.
The defeat at the London Stadium was their third of the campaign and will go a long way to discouraging investing in their Fantasy Premier League assets.
In this latest Scout Notes article, we’ve got all the FPL talking points from the opening match of Gameweek 7.
West Ham United 3-1 Manchester United
Goals: Felipe Anderson (£6.8m), Marko Arnautovic (£6.9m) | Marcus Rashford (£6.7m)
Own Goals: Victor Lindelöf (£4.9m)
Assists: Pablo Zabaleta (£4.3m) | Luke Shaw (£5.1m)
Marko Arnautovic (£6.9m) registered his fifth attacking return in six matches as he scored in West Ham’s 3-1 win over Manchester United. The Austrian forward returned to the starting line-up after injury ruled him out of Gameweek 6. His FPL returns on Saturday lunch-time only further complicate the debate over which of the cheaper strikers are worth owning. Remember that this was supposed to be the season where the so-called ‘third striker’ had sadly passed away. We are faced with a plethora of options already in 2018/19.
Interestingly, Arnautovic only actually had two shots in the match and took on a slightly deeper role than usual. In fact, it was his distribution that caused Man United so many problems at the London Stadium, rather than his goal threat. No forward completed more successful passes in the final third than him in Gameweek 7, at time of writing. That bodes well for his prospects long-term as it suggests the potential for multiple points-scoring avenues. With West Ham’s fixtures soon to turn around, the case for his inclusion could be strong.
Felipe Anderson (£6.8m) also looked good once again, scoring the opening goal for the Hammers. While Arnautovic is the clear and obvious choice in West Ham’s attack he is slightly cheaper and has been taking up equally dangerous positions. Furthermore, he is on set pieces for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. While Andriy Yarmolenko (£6.9m) may not look like much of a Fantasy asset, this win over United showed that the Hammers’ attack is getting into a groove and could well be trusted with investment in the coming weeks.
The fact that West Ham have taken four points from matches against Chelsea and Manchester United, and conceded just once is also encouraging. The Hammers are still allowing a fair number of shots, but holding two attacking sides at bay should be to their credit. Lukasz Fabianski (£4.5m) continues to be the favourite from their defensive options but Pablo Zabaleta (£4.3m) has put himself forward for anyone looking for budget options. He seems to have nailed down a starting spot in recent weeks, having completed 90 minutes in each of the last three Gameweeks and registered an assist for Anderson’s goal too.
“We spent some money but we are not going to win the league but the big change was our decision to keep doing exactly the same thing. In the first four games, we were not assembled as a team. We are improving and the results are coming now.” – Manuel Pellegrini
Manchester United, on the other hand, looked a shadow of the side that warranted Fantasy investment just two weeks ago. They offered little in the first-half as Jose Mourinho opted for a 3-5-2 formation. United looked flat and uncomfortable with the system while Romelu Lukaku (£11.1m) was the only player to show any drive or urgency. Paul Pogba (£8.2m) started the match after a week of reported friction between himself and the manager but did not play particularly well.
Anthony Martial lined up as a striker alongside Lukaku, but it was a pairing that did not quite work. At the back, Scott McTominay was named in a three-man defence alongside Chris Smalling (£5.8m) and Victor Lindelof (£4.9m). Luke Shaw (£5.1m) started for the second week in succession, with Ashley Young (£5.8m) used at right-back, wearing the captain’s armband. That was because Antonio Valencia (£6.5m) was left out of the matchday squad altogether. Alexis Sánchez (£10.1m) and Jesse Lingard (£6.8m) were afforded similar treatment.
“I want to play [Anthony] Martial. Something that you are asking for a long, long, long time to play Martial, I left Alexis [Sanchez] out, and I think that Martial is not a player very, very, very focused on his defensive duties. And to play him as a second striker and trying just to cover the area of [Declan] Rice would be much easier for him.” – Jose Mourinho
“And at the same time I felt we needed quality on the ball on the building up from the back and Scott McTominay has that quality with the ball. Everything that left his foot was correct, was accurate, the passes to Ashley Young on the right, the passes to Matic, the passes to the striker, everything was accurate from him. A part of a special character, a special personality, that a team in a negative moment needs this kind of mentality like Scott McTominay has.” – Jose Mourinho
Mourinho did make a change in the 56th minute which introduced some impetus and pace into their game. He brought Marcus Rashford (£6.7m) on for Lindelof in order to facilitate a switch to 4-3-3. The young Englishman played on the right flank of the front three, with Martial pushing out to the left. His impact was almost instant as it headed home, although it was from a set piece that he changed the game. Shaw was the one who put the ball in from the corner, another feather in his Fantasy cap.
But it wasn’t enough to change the course of the result, with Arnautovic managing to break free soon after and make it 3-1. It proved to be another game where Mourinho’s side did not play particularly well over the course of the 90 minutes, and the worrying sign is the fact that the Portuguese manager wasn’t completely prepared to admit that was the case.
“We didn’t make a good start. We didn’t have a good start. The team needs positive feelings. To start losing after five minutes is not what we need. It’s an offside ball. No VAR. The linesman made this mistake. We were punished. The team felt it deeply.” – Jose Mourinho
It is getting to the point now where Man United’s problems off the pitch are starting to play into the hands of their opponents. They can see that something is not right at the club, and Pellegrini confirmed that with some of his post-match words about the absence of Sánchez.
“I was surprised about Alexis Sánchez. That was a relief. They still had decisive players in the final third.” – Manuel Pellegrini
West Ham XI (4-3-3): Fabianski; Masuaku, Diop, Balbuena, Zabaleta; Rice, Noble, Obiang; Anderson (Diangana 90+3′), Arnautovic (Antonio 83′), Yarmolenko (Snodgrass 71′).
Man United XI (3-5-2): De Gea; Lindelof (Rashford 56′), Smalling, McTominay; Shaw, Pogba (Fred 70′), Matic, Fellaini, Young; Martial (Mata 71′), Lukaku.
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