The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Sunday’s three games are covered in this Scout Notes article.
Manchester United v Liverpool, Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea v Crystal Palace are the fixtures we’re focusing on here.
INFLUENTIAL SALAH
Liverpool delivered a statement win at Old Trafford on Sunday, inspired by Luis Diaz (£7.5m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.6m).
The Egyptian inevitably continued his excellent run by scoring his 12th goal in 15 appearances against United, finding the net from a Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5m) pass.
Prior to that, he turned provider for Diaz, supplying two first-half assists.
It means Salah has either scored or assisted six of Liverpool’s seven goals this season:
| GW | Opponent | Goalscorer | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ipswich | Jota | Salah |
| 1 | Ipswich | Salah | Szoboszlai |
| 2 | Brentford | Diaz | Jota |
| 2 | Brentford | Salah | Diaz |
| 3 | Man Utd | Diaz | Salah |
| 3 | Man Utd | Diaz | Salah |
| 3 | Man Utd | Salah | Szoboszlai |
As for Diaz, he’s now produced back-to-back double-figure hauls and is getting into some very decent goalscoring positions.
He’s level with Diogo Jota (£7.6m) for shots (eight) overall, with a further seven key passes supplied in Gameweeks 1-3.
SLOT’S PERFECT START
The team stats detailed in our Scoreboard article were fairly even but don’t tell the story.
In truth, Liverpool were organised, composed and efficient at Old Trafford, and could easily have scored five or six.
So their attack is on point as usual – no team has had more shots in the box than the Reds this season – but there is a new-found assuredness in their defending.
Indeed, they have now kept three clean sheets in a row under Arne Slot.
Ryan Gravenberch (£5.0m) in particular has been superb shielding the back four, driving forward into space when the opportunity arises.
And on Sunday, only VAR denied Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) his first goal of the season.
“We look a bit more secure defensively. We had a lot more control in our game today. It was 3-0 and it could have been more. To come away to your big rivals like Manchester United and keep a clean sheet is massive.
“They always say clean sheets will win you things and that’s always been the case when Manchester City have won the league and when we did. Three games without a goal conceded is really good and we want to keep that going.
“Alisson had too many shots to save last season. I think he’s been happy with the people in front of him so far. It’s about the whole unit working hard. The wingers put in an unbelievable shift and it helps the boys at the back.” – Andrew Robertson
UNITED POOR
United were soundly beaten at Old Trafford, with some familiar failings on show.
Careless in possession, the spaces frequently opened up in front of their back four and it was hard to know exactly what shape they were trying to play.
Casemiro (£5.0m) was at fault for both first-half goals and was subsequently hauled off for 20-year-old Toby Collyer (£4.5m) at the break.
Manuel Ugarte’s introduction can’t come soon enough, then.
Further forward, Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) blanked for the third game in a row, while Marcus Rashford (£6.9m) still hasn’t had a shot in the Premier League this season despite playing 244 minutes.
Substitute Amad Diallo (£5.0m) was at least a rare bright spark on the right.
“It is not like I am Harry Potter. You have to acknowledge that for three players it was their first start of the season. Manuel Ugarte did not play one minute – he needs to build his fitness. Then we have to build him into the team. I am sure he will contribute to our team. It will take a couple of weeks, maybe even a month. That is the same for a lot of players.” – Erik ten Hag
ISAK OFF THE MARK
Sold by over 1.3m Fantasy managers since Gameweek 1, Alexander Isak (£8.5m) is finally off the mark.
The Swede gave Newcastle a second win in two home games on Sunday, tapping home the winner on 78 minutes.
He’d previously struck the bar in the first-half, which preceded Harvey Barnes’ (£6.4m) opener.
Barnes has now scored in back-to-back Gameweeks but he actually started here, pushing Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) out onto the right wing.
When Barnes was sacrificed in the second half, Gordon moved out to the left, but this was a mixed showing from the England man, who failed to produce a shot.
He was at least on corners.
Like Gordon, Newcastle were fairly unconvincing for large periods, with just 34% possession and six shots in the box.
Still, they’ve maintained their unbeaten start to the season and travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers next, who are yet to keep a clean sheet.
PORRO’S THREAT/VAN DE VEN INJURY LATEST
Tottenham will wonder how they lost this match, having had 20 shots to Newcastle’s nine.
Superior for large parts, they created some decent chances, but as so often is the case with Spurs, they failed to deliver in the big moments.
Dejan Kulusevski (£6.4m) got the nod up front, with Son Heung-min (£10.0m) starting on the left.
However, it was substitute Brennan Johnson (£6.4m) who impressed most, with his half-time introduction swinging the momentum back in Tottenham’s favour.
“The positives are that our football is good and has been for three games, we just need the rewards for our football. What I do know is if we play like that we will get our rewards.” – Ange Postecoglou
There were six (!) goal attempts for Pedro Porro (£5.5m), meanwhile.
In fact, he had more shots than any other player in this match and struck the crossbar with a deflected cross.
Furthermore, the Spaniard was involved at both direct and indirect free-kicks, which bodes well for future returns.
On the injury front, Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) missed out on the trip to Tyneside.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Ange Postecoglou said:
“Micky [van de Ven] was close in training, but with the international break he’s not 100%. Part of me wanted to give Radu [Dragusin] a run. We have a heavy programme and we are going to need all our back four starting.” – Ange Postecoglou
EZE FINALLY DELIVERS
Eberechi Eze (£6.9m) earned Crystal Palace their first point of the season with a superb strike at Stamford Bridge.
It’s taken the England international three games to score, but no player had taken more shots than Eze in the first two Gameweeks, suggesting a haul was imminent.
After claiming the maximum bonus, his loyal owners were rewarded with 10 points.
“In this situation it is very often a goal. He could have had three or four goals already after three games. We know when he gets the ball in this area he can always score. It is just to get him there.” – Oliver Glasner on Eberechi Eze
Chelsea did a fine job of cutting the supply line to Eze in the first half, but they just weren’t the same team after the interval.
If anything, Palace looked the more likely to grab a winner.
What is clear is that Cole Palmer (£10.6m) remains the creative hub of this Chelsea side, with another five chances created on Sunday.
He claimed the assist for Nicolas Jackson’s (£7.6m) free-flowing opener but picked up a late yellow card for dissent.
The number one transfer target for Gameweek 3, Noni Madueke (£6.6m), twice came close to scoring in the first half and lasted 85 minutes, but ended on just two points.
As for Malo Gusto (£5.0m), Chelsea will await further updates after he potentially picked up a muscle problem.
“I feel it is a shame for the players because when we finished the game, you could see the players’ frustrations. In the way we played today, we are going to win games.
“We completely deserved to win the game. We created chances and controlled the game. We didn’t concede chances and in the first half, I think they just had one shot on goal with Adam Wharton and then they had the goal in the second half which was a fantastic goal.
“But overall, as you said, we completely deserved to win the game but unfortunately we didn’t. But the performance was very good, on the ball and off the ball.
“After we conceded the goal, we lost our way in terms of controlling the game and the game started to be a bit up and down and in transition, which is not our football and especially against them as they are very good in transition.
“But then after, we came back to the way we planned for the game and in the end, we had two or three more chances to win the game. But we didn’t win the game and it is what it is.” – Enzo Maresca
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