In the latest mini-Scout Notes, we look back on Thursday’s European action.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were all contesting quarter-final ties in their respective competitions.
As ever, these notes concentrate more on the wider Fantasy talking points rather than delivering a blow-by-blow account of the on-field action.
- READ MORE: Wednesday notes: Villa’s midweek line-up offers clues for Gameweek 32
- READ MORE: Tuesday notes: Saka “knock” + more Arsenal rotation beckons
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THURSDAY’S RESULTS
| OPPONENT | RESULT | GOALS | ASSISTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | v Legia Warsaw (a) | 3-0 win | George, Madueke x2 | James, Sancho x2 |
| Manchester United | v Lyon (a) | 2-2 draw | Yoro, Zirkzee | Ugarte, Fernandes |
| Tottenham Hotspur | v Eintracht Frankfurt (h) | 1-1 draw | Porro | Maddison |
TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION
| STARTING XI CHANGES FROM THEIR LAST MATCH | PLAYERS WHO KEPT THEIR PLACES (MINS) | OTHER MINS FOR SELECTED PLAYERS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 5 | Nkunku (90), Sancho (90), Dewsbury-Hall (90), Gusto (75), James (58), Adarabioyo (45) | Jorgensen (90), Badiashile (90), Acheampong (90), George (75), Palmer (45), Madueke (45), Colwill (45), Cucurella (32) |
| Manchester United | 0 | Onana (90), Mazraoui (90), Yoro (90), Dalot (90), Casemiro (90), Dorgu (90), Fernandes (90), Maguire (83), Garnacho (83), Ugarte (72), Hojlund (63) | Zirkzee (27), Mount (18), Lindelof (7), Mainoo (7) |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | Vicario (90), Porro (90), Romero (90), Bentancur (90), Bergvall (90), Johnson (90), Solanke (88), Maddison (80), Son (80) | Van de Ven (90), Udogie (80), Tel (10), Spence (10), Richarlison (2) |
MARESCA EXPLAINS WHY PALMER WAS SUBBED OFF
After a surprise benching in Gameweek 31, Cole Palmer (£10.7m) was in Chelsea’s starting XI for their trip to Legia Warsaw.
He was hooked at the interval, with concerns raised about another injury given that he seemed to be briefly struggling in the first half.
Enzo Maresca at least assuaged those fears.
“No, no, no, we planned for him and for Tosin 45 minutes so everything was planned.” – Enzo Maresca on if Cole Palmer’s substitution was enforced
Only 45 minutes in Poland perhaps bodes well for a start against Ipswich Town, then.
But while the injury concerns have subsided, the worries remain about Palmer’s form.
The premium midfielder delivered another sub-par showing in the first half, having a couple of shots blocked and looking frustrated at times.
On the subject of Chelsea players lacking confidence, Christopher Nkunku (£5.7m) plumbed new depths. After a Gameweek 31 shocker, he was again given the chance to lead the line and again flopped. The nadir was a missed 73rd-minute penalty; Nicolas Jackson (£7.7m) won’t be having sleepless nights.
RESTS FOR CUCURELLA, JACKSON AND MORE
Speaking of Jackson, he was on the bench on Thursday despite also being rotated last Gameweek. The same went for Marc Cucurella (£5.4m), Pedro Neto (£6.2m) and Levi Colwill (£4.4m).
Maresca had previously said that the Gameweek 31 benchings of Palmer and Jackson were not done with one eye on Thursday’s game. Looking at the line-up in Warsaw, that appears to have been the case.
It seems, then, that the Chelsea boss will go strong for the visit of Ipswich this weekend.
That may include a start for Noni Madueke (£6.0m), who converted two Jadon Sancho (£6.2m) assists to very likely put the tie out of Legia’s reach.
The Blues were poor in the first half but turned the screw after the break, with rookie Tyrique George (£4.5m) breaking the deadlock after Reece James‘ (£4.8m) shot had been saved.
James was back in central midfield here and while he was taken off relatively early, Maresca’s previous for handling the England international carefully (repeatedly saying he can’t start every three days) suggests he may be on the bench on Sunday.
The Blues’ defence was seldom troubled in Poland, with Filip Jorgensen‘s (£4.2m) only save coming in the 90th minute. Don’t worry, Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) owners: this was merely the usual cup rotation between the sticks.
POSTECOGLOU HINTS AT GAMEWEEK 32 ROTATION
By contrast, both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United went strong for their respective UEFA Europa League ties.
Ruben Amorim named the same starting XI as he did in the Manchester derby, while Ange Postecoglou made only two changes.
Postecoglou even waited until the 80th minute to make any substitutions, with a cramping Destiny Udogie (£4.8m) one of the first off.
Talking about his late changes and the return of Richarlison (£6.8m), Postecoglou hinted at Gameweek 32 rotation – which could be good news for opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“I think with Richy and a couple of others, it was good to get them out there. Obviously we’ve got a game at the weekend, Richy and others will get more game time there and hopefully that’ll get them into a position….next week, you don’t know, it may go into extra time and we may need some pretty big efforts from guys so we it was good to get them some minutes today.” – Ange Postecoglou
DECENT PERFORMANCES – BUT ANOTHER ONANA HOWLER
Spurs and United have served up more disappointing displays than good ones this season but these were two of their better performances.
The Lilywhites were the dominant side against Eintracht Frankfurt, recovering from an early goal concession to draw. They’ll have been disappointed not to win, too, after Rodrigo Bentancur (£4.9m) and Lucas Bergvall (£4.4m) both hit the woodwork and Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) mistimed his header from six yards late on. Visiting goalkeeper Kauã Santos impressed, forced into five stops in all as the hosts exerted pressure.
Pedro Porro (£5.3m) backheeled an equaliser after good work from James Maddison (£7.4m), who outshone the relatively quiet Spurs front three.
A much-improved showing, then, but will it count for anything come Gameweek 32 with rotation likely to strike and focus on Thursday in Frankfurt?
The same goes for United this weekend. More solid than spectacular in Lyon, they likewise overturned an early goal concession to draw. Leny Yoro (£4.3m) was impressive at both ends (having three shots) and nodded United level, with substitute Joshua Zirkzee (£6.5m) heading in a Bruno Fernandes (£8.6m) cross to give the Red Devils a 2-1 lead.
Alexander Isak (£9.5m) and Jacob Murphy (£5.2m) owners would meanwhile have been delighted to see Andre Onana (£4.9m) stooping to another low. Allowing a Thiago Almada free-kick to pass through his hands, he later failed to parry a Georges Mikautadze shot to safety – and Rayan Cherki tapped in on the rebound to level things up.
More of that in Gameweek 32 wouldn’t go amiss.
