Welcome back to the Premier League, Burnley.
On Saturday, the Clarets did something they didn’t do once in the 2024/25 Championship campaign: concede more than one goal in a game.
It was a great start to Premier League life under Thomas Frank for Tottenham Hotspur, although the 3-0 scoreline did flatter the Lilywhites a little.
Here’s what we saw from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, with a little help from the stats and graphics in our Members Area.
RICHARLISON PUTS DOWN A MARKER
Of all the attention devoted to Spurs players after Frank’s arrival, not much went on Richarlison (£6.5m).
Had Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) been fully fit, indeed, the Brazilian probably would have been warming the bench in Gameweek 1.
But he’s laid down a marker. After a strong display against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, Richarlison scored twice against Burnley and co-leads the FPL forwards’ points table.
A tidy finish from a Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) cross was followed by a superb bicycle kick from another Kudus delivery.
Among forwards, only Erling Haaland (£14.0m) registered more shots (six) than Richarlison (five) in Gameweek 1.
It’s the Brazil international’s place to lose, then, but Frank did issue some cautionary words about game-time.
“He deserves a lot of praise. He was very good against PSG and today he was exceptional, with his work-rate, driving the team, link-up play, hold-up play, just dominating and then the two finishes.
“So, happy on his behalf and again performance department, medical department did a top job to build him. I think a few of you know he was not involved in the first friendly because we had to build him. That will be continuous and something we need to look at throughout the season. It is only the second game of the season, there is a long way to go but very positive with him.
“I think it’s fair to say that he hasn’t played every game in the last three or four seasons because of injuries, so I think we need to be smart with him. What is the right answer to that? I don’t know. That can be getting out earlier, that can be coming from the bench. There can be various ways, there can be playing five games in a row, you know. We need to get to know him as well. That’s the next thing. I don’t ‘know him, know him’.” – Thomas Frank on Richarlison
KUDUS LIVELY
Kudus followed up his strong pre-season with a lively Premier League debut for Spurs, creating five chances in all. No one has topped that in Gameweek 1 so far.
The former West Ham United winger had supplied his first opportunity after just 25 seconds, while his shimmy and cross for Richarlison’s second was almost as good as the strike itself.
He was on a share of corners with Pedro Porro (£5.5m), too, going close to another assist when Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) nodded over.
Frank’s success with set plays at Brentford is something worth watching for at Spurs. Van de Ven twice had efforts from inside the six-yard box here.
And after Kevin Danso‘s (£4.5m) potent long throws in midweek, Lucas Bergvall (£5.5m) was doing the same on Saturday.
SARR DEEPER + PALHINHA’S IMPORTANCE
Despite all the pre-season talk of Pape Matar Sarr (£5.0m) as a ’10’, it was Bergvall who began the game as the more advanced of Spurs’ central midfielders.
And with Eberechi Eze (£7.5m) being heavily linked with Spurs, Sarr’s best chance of game-time going forward may well be as an ‘eight’.
He at least grabbed an assist against Burnley, feeding Brennan Johnson (£7.0m) with a fine through-ball to wrap the game up.
It was Sarr, Bergvall and Archie Gray (£5.0m) as the midfield three on Saturday, with Joao Palhinha (£5.5m) and Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.5m) rested. An early sign of rotation to come under Frank when the UEFA Champions League campaign gets underway?
Palhinha’s importance to the Spurs cause has perhaps been seen in the last week. Frank’s troops struggled without him when he was taken off against PSG (Spurs were 2-0 up when he was substituted), while Burnley actually carved out 14 shots and were ahead on xG at half-time against the Palhinha-less midfield here.
There’s little doubt that he’ll be starting against Manchester City next weekend.
BURNLEY BRIGHT – BUT LACKING THE KILLER TOUCH
Burnley were better than many thought but lacking a killer touch up top.
Jaidon Anthony (£5.5m), who had four shots in all, and Hannibal Mejbri (£5.0m) had excellent chances, the latter dithering when clean through.
They were also a threat from set plays, with popular budget FPL defender Maxime Esteve (£4.0m) among those going close.
Might Armando Broja (£5.5m) provide more of a focal point going forward? He wasn’t involved here, with Scott Parker saying more work was needed on his fitness.
“He’s just not had enough work to be put in the Premier League, so we need to tread carefully and get him up to speed. I don’t want to rush anything with him and he’d be vulnerable to anything here. Then more to that, he’s coming into the team, you need to be probably physically at your optimum.” – Scott Parker on Armando Broja
A new signing who was given his full debut was Martin Dubravka (£4.0m), which was big news for FPL managers looking to start him in Gameweek 2.
He was solid enough (apart from the odd flap at set plays), not really having much of a chance with any of the goals.
Left-back Quilindschy Hartman (£4.0m) was on set pieces for the Clarets alongside Josh Cullen (£5.0m), who not only matched Kudus for chances created (five) but also banked defensive contribution (DC) points. He was the only player in north London to hit the DC threshold.
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