Scout Notes

Salah punishes doubters as Liverpool concede for third successive match

Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal

Goals: Joel Matip (£5.4m), Mohamed Salah x2 (£12.5m) | Lucas Torreira (£4.9m)

Assists: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m), Fabinho (£5.5m) | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m)

Bonus Points: Salah x3, Fabinho x2, Matip x1

The familiar story of Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) punishing his doubters came to pass once again as Liverpool beat Arsenal 3-1 on Saturday.

The Egyptian was the most-sold asset ahead of Gameweek 3, losing 398,638 owners in the process, but emerged with a 15-point haul.

Meanwhile, Sadio Mané (£11.5m) who was turned to as a replacement for many who Wildcarded, looked lively against Arsenal but blanked for a three-point score.

Liverpool dominated most of the fixture, registering a total of 25 shots against the Gunners, who have historically struggled to defend well at Anfield.

Salah was at the heart of that, and looked every bit the goal threat at home as he did last season, proving that the blank at Southampton was probably a blip caused by a Super Cup hangover. His remaining 39% ownership had to wait for the fruits of his efforts, both goals coming in the second half, but they were certainly deserved.

His first goal was further evidence of an advantage he has over all other Liverpool attacking assets this season.

Mohamed Salah got the better of David Luiz for both of his goals against Arsenal

Salah was fouled in the box by David Luiz (£6.0m), who pulled his shirt, and won his side the penalty. The Egyptian then stood up to take it, firing a fantastic effort high into the top corner. As had been referenced over the summer, reduced game-time for James Milner (£5.5m) this season, should mean more of these spot-kicks for Salah in 2019/20.

Salah’s second goal came from his brilliance as he skilfully turned past Luiz on the right flank and bore down on goal, placing his effort into the far corner.

The Egyptian now has six goals in five matches against Arsenal, more than against any other Premier League side.

With those Gameweek 2 doubts now allayed once again, Salah’s prospects look good in the coming Gameweeks with Burnley (away), Newcastle (home), Chelsea (away) and Sheffield United (away) his next four opponents.

Sadio Mané was replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 77th minute against Arsenal

As mentioned previously, Mané was probably unfortunate not to get any attacking returns in this one, considering how dominant Liverpool were going forward.

While he did not shoot as often as Salah, he took on the brunt of creativity in Liverpool’s team.

Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) was also unfortunate not to come away with any attacking returns against Arsenal, a side he typically does well against.

He was inches away from getting on the end of an Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) cross in the opening minute which would have given Liverpool an early lead.

Roberto Firmino was also unfortunate not to get any attacking returns against Arsenal

Later on, he went close again, this time setting himself up with skill, scooping the ball over Dani Ceballos (£5.6m) and firing a volley at goal – only for it to be blocked.

There was further frustration for most Fantasy managers in possession of Liverpool defensive assets as they went a third Premier League match in a row without a clean sheet this season.

Perhaps this was an encounter in which defensive returns were unlikely though, given the way that Arsenal’s attack had started the season.

Indeed, the Gunners asked more questions than most sides had at Anfield in recent times.

While Liverpool were the side largely in control of this encounter, whenever Arsenal broke on them they looked dangerous.

“To be honest I didn’t expect the system they played. I’m not sure they played it in pre-season, I didn’t see it. It meant we had a lot of space on the wings, switching sides, the only problem was a little bit the movements in the box to make it a bit more tricky for the defending side. They won a lot of these challenges in the air, but we won a lot of second balls for that, putting them constantly under pressure without having the outcome we wanted.” – Jurgen Klopp

Nicolas Pépé (£9.4m) was the main dangerman for Arsenal, also becoming the first man to successfully dribble past Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) in 50 Premier League games.

Nicolas Pepe and Virgil van Dijk was a pulsating contest in Liverpool’s win over Arsenal

He did this six minutes into the match, holding off the Liverpool man and running beyond him towards the opposition penalty box. Were it not for Pépé tripping over the ball, he would have been able to find Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m) in space.

11 minutes into the game, Pépé caused problems once more, chasing a ball played to him over the top of the defenders, forcing Adrian (£4.5m) to sally out of goal.

His clearance went straight to Aubameyang who, from outside the box attempted a lob but screwed it just wide.

In the 30th minute, Aubameyang set up Pépé on the edge of the box, who was afforded too much space by Robertson. His curled effort went just wide.

Arsenal’s best chance of the first half came after Jordan Henderson (£5.5m) gave the ball away in the breakdown of a Liverpool set piece.

That left Pépé with only Robertson to beat in order to get one-on-one with Adrian. Unfortunately for Arsenal, the former Lille man’s shot was tame, although Liverpool’s goalkeeper still struggled to keep hold of it.

In the end, Liverpool were beaten in the 85th minute, once it looked as if they had ridden the storm and banked the clean sheet, perhaps making it all the more frustrating.

Substitute Lucas Torreira (£4.9m) was the man to get the goal for Arsenal, firing in from 12 yards after nearly tripping over a square ball from Aubameyang.

“I would have loved to have (the clean sheet), to be honest, but when I see what the boys throw into a game like this, these things can happen. It’s a quality side Arsenal, they never give up, but I didn’t see that many chances. Today we were really in charge.” – Jurgen Klopp

That g ensured blanks for a selection of Liverpool defenders as the inquest into a double-up on this area of their team goes on.

With the in-form Ashley Barnes (£6.6m) the next striker to face the Reds’ back-line, concerns about the team’s clean sheet potential are sure to continue.

“We will have another week of training and then we go to a very difficult place, to Burnley. I couldn’t have more respect for what they are doing there. I will have the opportunity to watch them tomorrow but it will still be different because Burnley at home are another level, so it will be really tricky.” – Jurgen Klopp

Alexander-Arnold was one of two Liverpool defenders to get returns in Gameweek 3

However, we should point out that that least those on Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) got something out of the game.

As expected, his crossing was excellent and his involvement in set-pieces was what led to his second assist of the season. The England international now has nine of them in his last 10 matches at Anfield.

It was not surprising that he was able to chalk another one up against Arsenal, as they had conceded more chances from set-pieces than any other side in the first two Gameweeks.

That’s why van Dijk owners can probably feel somewhat unfortunate to come away with another two-pointer. He was likely the intended target of Alexander-Arnold’s 41st-minute corner but he was fouled by at least two Arsenal players as he leapt to connect with it.

Joel Matip opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first half

This was what allowed Joel Matip (£5.4m) to nod home the opening goal of the match.

“It was a very determined header as well; I don’t know how many people held on Virg in that moment, it looked like they built something around him, but Joel was there – big Joel – and made a fantastic goal. I think it was a deserved result for half-time.” – Jurgen Klopp

Meanwhile, Robertson was also unfortunate not to get something too. As already mentioned, Firmino came close to converting his early cross and it must be said that the Scottish international continues to shoot with greater regularity than he did last season.

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Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Adrian; Robertson, van Dijk, Matip, Alexander-Arnold; Wijnaldum (Milner 69′), Fabinho, J Henderson; Mané (Oxlade-Chamberlain 77′), Firmino (Lallana 86′), Salah.

Arsenal XI (4-3-1-2): Leno; Monreal, D Luiz, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles; Willock (Lacazette 81′), Xhaka, Guendouzi (Mkhitaryan 86′); Ceballos (Torreira 61′); Aubameyang, Pépé.

Lessons learned from Gameweek 3

4,374 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Cok3y5murf
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Wildcarders looking for the delete account button

    1. BabyB
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      What's wrong with 64 points this week?

      More likely looking for the filter button on you.

    2. MaxOut FC
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Salah was the only real damage for wildcarders, as many went for Mane. Otherwise they've likely caught a ton of price rises and probably still got a decent score

      1. have you seen cyan
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        there was loads of damage to wildcarders.
        Everton conceded, Man U conceded. Mane flop, KWP no cs. Vardy and Wilson returned

        1. have you seen cyan
          • 4 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          oh and Heaton cs when they all switched to Pope

          1. MaxOut FC
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Pope conceded a pen in the 98th minute. Everton had an xG of 1.26 against Villa. Pope is a better option for the future

          2. rozzo
            • 10 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Not everyone who wildcarded picked the same team did they

        2. MaxOut FC
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          I see what you mean, but hardly any defenders returned this week though so the net loss is minimal. Mane still had better underlying stats than Salah and those who went big on Spurs failed to analyse the underlying stats properly

    3. rozzo
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Not everyone follows the crowd, 69 points here

  2. MyBall MyRules
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Pieters, you bag head 🙁

  3. twoplustwo
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Kane rimmers nowhere to be seen

    1. El Matador
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      This

  4. Kroos Kontrol
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Would you get McGinn or Cantwell (the extra 1.0 isn't too big an issue at this point). Have Lundstram to rotate with

    1. SoShy
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      McGinn

  5. SoShy
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Cant wait for IB to wildcard.. team value will take a nose dive. Anyone else activating?

    1. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Waiting till IB

  6. EL tridente
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    KWP and Robinson to Lowton and Mount for -4?

  7. F4L
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Raullll!!! Finally returned 😀

  8. El Matador
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Kane was meant to tear Newc a new one lol sorry but people talk too soon!

  9. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    This is the equivalent of a “LOL @“ by FFS 😛

  10. R.C
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    That last goal from Jimenez hurt.

    1. MaxOut FC
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      The fact that Jimenez stole the 3 bonus from Barnes made it even more painful

  11. Bury94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Keeper and Defenders points are as follows

    1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 0. Who said big at the back is the way to go? 😉

    1. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Show off!

  12. Daddy Kev
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    62 points after BPs added, is that above average this week?

    1. MaxOut FC
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Definitely

    2. Magic Zico
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Exactly the same here and I think its a good score this week

    3. grumpyman
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Average is 44.

    4. Bury94
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Just 54 here, not the best week

  13. goriuanx
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Wildcarding and removing the best player in the game after just 1 blank always had its risks.

    1. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      That mill was needed to fund United & Spurs big hitters.

      1. twoplustwo
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Lol

    2. DAZZ
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Too soon BF, i imagine they’ve logged off

    3. MaxOut FC
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Mane had better underlying stats this week still though. Likely to outscore Salah over the next few weeks

  14. Kub3
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    The Pope cleansheet wipeout was the icing on the cake of a pitiful week. Just a disaster

    1. Bada Bing
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Justice for Pope benchers. 🙂

  15. Canary_Kid
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Pope clean sheet gone in the 95th minute with a dodgy penalty. You love to see it

  16. zizoo10
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Has anybody used their FT on dend > cantwell and starting him over a current player (KWP for me) coming gw?

    1. Christina.
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      ive started Cantwell the last 2 weeks

      1. zizoo10
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I’m guessing you have kane(c) then rip

        1. Christina.
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          yep. got away with murder.

          green arrow. up to 2.3k OR

  17. Oooof
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Kept Salah and captained him...feeling smug 🙂

    1. zizoo10
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      200iq

    2. Jonty Rhodes
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Same here. Salah is looking even better than last season and in great touch.

  18. el polako
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Been to BBQ, promised mt wife not to touch phone.
    How many goals Kane scored ?
    2, 3 , 4 ?
    Surely monster haul.

    1. DA Minnion (Former great)
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Go back to the B B Q

      1. el polako
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        I mean if Pukki scored 3 then golden child of english football must have run riot against Newcastle...

        1. Alan Watts
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Maybe NEW played differently vs NOR than away to TOT?

          1. Hairy Potter
            • 8 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Yep, Longstaff back alongside Hayden made a difference and having another dribbler like ASM/Atsu instead of the slow Shelvey. Was nearly a carbon copy of how thry played when they beat Man City last season.

    2. Bury94
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Hatrick and 2 assist

      1. el polako
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Wanst expecting anything less

    3. MagicMessi
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 7 months ago

      Hey grab a drink and come I'll tell you just get a strong alcoholic drink

  19. Delhidynamo
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    Burnley without Charlie Taylor just don't have it

  20. have you seen cyan
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    livefpl down more then fantasy is :/

  21. the vanisher
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 7 months ago

    On wildcard and I have Kane/Laporte.

    After today’s results Zinc and Aguero better?

    1. MTPockets
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Aguero in form is always better

        1. MTPockets
            4 years, 7 months ago

            but only 1 week until international break, then Jesus return apparently

        2. twoplustwo
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Lol

      • Valar(Keith)
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Now is the time to WC :).. Keeping Salah and Kdb, Pope, Laporte and getting rid of Kane, Jota, ceballos, Perez, donks, Montoya, Rico and getting Sterling, Barnes, Haller, Mount, Cantwell, Lundstram and Soyuncu :)..

        1. el polako
          • 6 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Just dont buy United assets.

          1. Valar(Keith)
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 7 months ago

            Yup. And getting haller and keeping pukki. It's time.. I feel it in my bones. Dint feel it last week.

      • KUNingas
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Dendo -> Cantwell tonight?

        1. Drop Dead Tsimikas
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          I did that last night.

        2. zizoo10
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Let’s do it together

      • CornerTakenQuicklyOrigi
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Which move d'ya prefer? Other defenders are Digne, Zinch and Lundstram.

        A) Shaw+ Wickham > Barnes + Kelly
        B) VVD + Greenwood > Haller + Kelly

      • lekalatch
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Kane’s performance... holy **** it was terrible! What are WC Kane owners doing? Tbh I don’t want him after this game. Kane Zinchenko —> Aguero 4.5 (-4) or Abraham/Haller straight swap is tempting.

        1. Ajax Hamsterdam
          • 9 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          haller looks like a very good option great fixtures

      • Drop Dead Tsimikas
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Of course. Called it 10 minutes ago, just as Pope was on for a couple BAPs, my last chance at a half-decent GW had gone.

      • Mr. Funny Name
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Still haven’t got the (c) versus (vc) decision correct this season so far, anyone else?

        1. Supersonic Marv'
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          Pukki for the win bro.

      • Rash
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        Kane fire sales imminent

      • CelticBhoy1
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 7 months ago

        How nailed is Cantwell?

        1. Pino
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 8 Years
          4 years, 7 months ago

          100%