25 players in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) picked up defensive contribution (DefCon) points in Gameweek 1.
Here we find out who qualified and how many DefCons they made in total.
As a reminder, outfield players are rewarded with extra points if they meet the following criteria:
| Position | Defensive contributions | Points on offer |
|---|---|---|
| Defenders | 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT) | +2 |
| Midfielders and forwards | 12 clearances, blocks, interceptions, recoveries and tackles (CBIRT) | +2 |
PLAYERS WITH DEFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION POINTS IN GAMEWEEK 1
DEFENDERS
The most immediate takeaway here is that out of the 15 defenders who hit the DefCon threshold in Gameweek 1, 11 were centre-backs.
Even Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri (£6.0m), who we’ve not included in our count, played a hybrid full-back/centre-back role.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m) led the way.
The Dutchman racked up 21 DefCons, including 17 (!) clearances. This particular statistic accounted for 80.95% of his overall total, underlining its importance.
Marcos Senesi (£4.5m) is another defender who qualified in this match.
The centre-halves of Bournemouth were excellent for DefCon points last season, and this was evident once more on Friday, with Senesi’s defensive partner, Bafode Diakite (£4.5m), just one DefCon away from also achieving the bonus.
Three clubs provided two defenders:
- Crystal Palace: Maxence Lacroix (£5.0m) and Tyrick Mitchell (£5.0m)
- Newcastle United: Dan Burn (£5.0m) and Fabian Schar (£5.5m)
- Manchester United: Matthijs de Ligt (£5.0m) and Leny Yoro (£4.5m)
Notably, each of those three teams encountered opponents who finished in the top six last season.
It is somewhat surprising to see only Dan Ballard (£4.5m) represented from the promoted teams. This is an aspect that is worth tracking in the upcoming weeks.
Meanwhile, minutes played were key in Gameweek 1: every defender who qualified for the bonus played the full 90.
MIDFIELDERS
