Chelsea bagged a historic Europa Conference League victory on Thursday night, as one young Manchester United star scored twice to make his case for a starting berth.
Those European wins on home turf followed Tottenham’s loss away to Galatasaray, after Ange Postecoglou limited the majority of his key men – and the main assets of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) interest – to 45 minutes or less.
We’ve picked out the key FPL talking points from all three fixtures in these Scout Notes, while you can also find our recaps of the midweek Champions League action via the links below.
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THURSDAY’S RESULTS
| OPPONENT | RESULT | GOALS | ASSISTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spurs | v Galatasaray (a) | 2-3 loss | Lankshear, Solanke | Johnson, Porro |
| Man Utd | v PAOK (h) | 2-0 win | Amad x2 | Fernandes |
| Chelsea | v Noah (h) | 8-0 win | Adarabioyo, Guiu, Disasi, Félix x2, Mudryk, Nkunku x2 | Fernández x3, Nkunku, Disasi |
TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION
| STARTING XI CHANGES FROM GW9 | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (MINS) | OTHER MINS FOR SELECTED PLAYERS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spurs | 7 | Porro (90), Drăgușin (90), Johnson (45), Son (45) | Forster (90), Gray (90), Davies (90), Bergvall (66), Bissouma (90), Maddison (66), Lankshear (60), Kulusevski (45), Bentancur (45), Sarr (24), Solanke (24) |
| Man Utd | 3 | Onana (90), Mazraoui (90), Dalot (65), Casemiro (90), Ugarte (65), Garnacho (65), Fernandes (90), Højlund (90) | Lindelöf (90), Evans (90), Amad (81), Martínez (25), Eriksen (25), Rashford (25), Mount (9), Zirkzee (5) |
| Chelsea | 11 | – | Jørgensen (90), Renato Veiga (90), Badiashile (90), Adarabioyo (90), Disasi (90), Fernández (45), Mudryk (90), Félix (90), Nkunku (90), George (90), Guiu (45), Casadei (45), Dewsbury-Hall (45), Chukwuemeka (22), Rak-Sakyi (11) |
ANGE RINGS THE CHANGES
A much-changed Tottenham team was beaten on the road by Galatasaray in the early Thursday evening kick-off, with teenage forward Will Lankshear (£4.5m) – making only his second first-team start – scoring his first senior goal for the club before being sent off.
Most of note was Spurs’ defensive fragility, with Ange Postecoglou’s men consistently error-prone and allowing their Turkish hosts to rack up 28 shots, 10 of which were on target. Spurs had just three shots on target of their own, and only five attempts in total.
Much of that issue may be explained by Postecoglou’s decision to field a mostly second-string side, with just four players who started last weekend’s battering of Aston Villa keeping their places.
Two of those – Son Heung-min (£9.9m) and Brennan Johnson (£6.7m) – lasted until half-time before being replaced by Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m) and Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.0m). Radu Drăgușin (£4.3m) – deputising again for the injured Micky van de Ven (£4.6m) – and Pedro Porro (£5.5m) were the sole troops to last the full 90.
James Maddison (£7.6m) was benched in Gameweek 10 but started this one, lasting just over an hour before Pape Matar Sarr (£4.7m) was given a run-out. There’s every chance Maddison is benched this weekend. Dominic Solanke (£7.7m) came on for Lucas Bergvall (£4.4m) at the same time as Sarr, just after Lankshear’s dismissal, and scored mere minutes later – a confident backheel finish that bodes well for Gameweek 11.
A “disappointed” Postecoglou summed it up as “a lesson learnt for the boys,” adding that his side were “really wasteful” with the ball but confirming that everyone at least appeared to have made it through unscathed.
AMAD MAKES CASE FOR STARTING XI SLOT
The star of the show in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over PAOK was undoubtedly Amad Diallo (£4.9m).
The 22-year-old Ivorian was United’s most significant goal threat throughout in an otherwise unconvincing display from the hosts at Old Trafford and got his due reward with a pair of second-half goals to grab an important three points.
Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy said the young winger was “our best player in the first half” and was responsible for “winning us the game in the second,” adding that a run of six games on the bench had clearly served as a motivator for Thursday’s performance.
“He is a great character and a hard worker. He shows that attitude in every training session. Every day he comes to me and wants to do extra finishing, crossing, one v ones.
“He is asking how can I improve his shot, and his heading. He is constantly focused on learning and getting better. He is motivated to get the most from his career.” – Ruud van Nistelrooy on Amad Diallo
Van Nistelrooy confirmed that Diallo would be assessed ahead of Sunday’s 2pm kick-off against Leicester; the matchwinner was substituted as a precaution following a knock to his ankle soon after his second goal, though he told reporters himself post-match that the issue was “not very bad.”
Assuming he is therefore passed fit, Diallo will no doubt have given both his current and new bosses something to think about in terms of United’s starting line-up moving forward.
Marcus Rashford (£6.9m) has only missed out on one Premier League starting XI – the Gameweek 5 draw at Crystal Palace – this season but was benched on Thursday, with Diallo given his shot on the right wing and Alejandro Garnacho (£6.3m) shifted to the left.
Given the bright spark Diallo provided against the Greek champions, and the fact that he is matching Rashford for G/A output (one of each) in the league this season despite playing just over half as many minutes across four starts and four limited substitute appearances, there’s every chance van Nistelrooy’s final match in charge could see Amad oust one of those hitherto regulars.
LAST DANCE BEFORE AMORIM ARRIVES
After that, much will depend on how the incoming Ruben Amorim sees each option fitting into his wing-back and inverted forward-favouring system.
Diallo and the line-up conundrums he poses aside, only two other changes were made to the XI that lined up against Chelsea last Sunday – both of them in the backline.
Victor Lindelöf (£4.3m) and Jonny Evans (£4.4m) replaced Matthijs de Ligt (£5.0m) and Lisandro Martínez (£4.4m) as the centre-backs, with Diogo Dalot (£5.1m) and Noussair Mazraoui (£4.5m) keeping their places but swapping flanks.
Mason Mount (£6.3m) was given a short run-out when Diallo was subbed 10 minutes from time, with Rashford, Christian Eriksen (£5.4m) and Martínez replacing Garnacho, Manuel Ugarte (£4.9m) and Dalot in a triple change in the 65th minute.
Rasmus Højlund (£6.9m) had another quiet night, largely bereft of chances and squandering the few that did come his way before making way for Joshua Zirkzee (£6.6m) with added time remaining.
Match stats-wise, United had double the shot tally of their Greek visitors (16 to eight) but the two sides were level for shots on target, with four apiece.
PALMER UPDATES
Neither Postecoglou nor van Nistelrooy were as heavy handed rotation-wise as Enzo Maresca, with the Chelsea boss naming an entirely new starting XI from that which he fielded at Old Trafford last weekend.
There were no Spurs-esque mistakes or dropped points as a result here, though, as the Blues put Armenian side FC Noah to the sword.
Six goals were netted by five different scorers in the first half before a Christopher Nkunku (£5.9m) brace (with his second coming from the penalty spot) after the interval sealed an 8-0 win which also marked the Europa Conference League’s biggest victory.
Given the one-sided manner of this match – Chelsea managed 31 shots in total, with 18 of them on target – and its B-team involvement on the hosts’ part, it’s difficult to glean much from Thursday night that will significantly impact FPL managers’ decisions heading into this weekend
Cole Palmer (£11.0m) was spotted at Stamford Bridge as speculation continues over his Gameweek 11 availability, after Chelsea’s talisman sustained a knock in the 1-1 draw with United.
Quizzed post-match on whether his star player would be fit for Sunday’s clash against Arsenal, Maresca said somewhat cryptically:
“Hopefully, we hope so. But we need to wait, we need to see and then decide.”
And in embargoed comments released on Friday afternoon, the Blues boss said:
“He’s getting better – if he can complete his dinner it means he’s fit.
“Hopefully we have him for the next two sessions and also on Saturday, then we’ll make a decision.”
CUCURELLA V GUSTO QUESTIONS
Another question ahead of the upcoming London derby pertains to Maresca’s first-choice full-backs.
Marc Cucurella (£5.0m) started Chelsea’s first seven league matches this season but has been benched for the last three, coinciding with the return of Reece James (£4.9m).
The England international and Malo Gusto (£4.9m) have since been given the nod on the flanks during that spell, but Gusto was then replaced by Cucurella during the half-time break at Old Trafford last Sunday.
That change, coupled with the fact that neither player then started against Noah as Renato Veiga (£4.5m) and goalscorer Axel Disasi (£4.3m) were given chances instead, could signal that Maresca is preparing to bring Cucurella back into the fold at left-back, likely at the expense of Gusto.
Doing so would then most likely see James occupy the right-back slot against Arsenal, with the young Frenchman having to settle for a spot on the bench.
Elsewhere, captain Enzo Fernández (£4.8m) managed a hat-trick of assists within nine first-half minutes before being replaced at the interval, but whether that performance will change the fact that he has appeared to be third choice behind Moisés Caicedo (£4.9m) and Roméo Lavia (£4.5m) in recent weeks remains to be seen.
João Félix (£6.1m) also starred, bagging a pair of first-half goals, with Mykhailo Mudryk (£6.2m), Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.3m) and Marc Guiu (£4.8m) the other scorers.
James was joined by Nicolas Jackson (£7.9m) in being absent from the squad, as were fellow regular starters including Caicedo and Lavia, while even Robert Sánchez (£4.7m) was given a rest.
