Two Premier League clubs were in Champions League action on Thursday. Here, we’ll bring you up to speed with all you need to know from a Fantasy perspective, including yet another goal for Erling Haaland (£14.2m).
- READ MORE: Tuesday’s Champions League notes: Arteta eases Gyokeres injury fears + Frank on Simons
- READ MORE: Wednesday’s Champions League notes: Salah bites back, Palmer’s groin + Slot on Isak
- READ MORE: Midweek EFL Cup notes: Glasner on “fatigued” Mateta + Wood under pressure
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
| Team | Opponent | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | Napoli (h) | 2-0 win | Haaland, Doku | Foden, Reijnders |
| Newcastle United | Barcelona (h) | 1-2 loss | Gordon | Murphy |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW4 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 0 | Donnarumma (90), Khusanov (90), Dias (90), Gvardiol (80), O’Reilly (90), Rodri (60), Bernardo (90), Foden (90), Reijnders (80), Doku (69), Haaland (80) | Nico (30), Savinho (21), Bobb (10), Lewis (10), Ake (10) |
| Newcastle United | 2 | Pope (90), Trippier (76), Schar (63), Burn (90), Livramento (90), Guimaraes (90), Tonali (90), Joelinton (62), Barnes (62) | Gordon (90), Elanga (63), Willock (28), Woltemade (28), Murphy (27), Thiaw (27), Botman (14) |
Manchester City and Newcastle United both went strong with their opening Champions League starting XI’s.
Pep Guardiola made no changes to the side that won the Manchester derby so convincingly, while Newcastle made only two switches, with Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) and Anthony Elanga (£7.0m) coming in for Nick Woltemade (£7.0m) and Jacob Murphy (£6.3m).
ANOTHER HAALAND GOAL
The headline news from Manchester City’s victory was Erling Haaland cementing his status as the best striker on the planet with his 50th Champions League goal. He has reached his half-century in only 49 matches – a simply breathtaking statistic, which beats Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 50 in 62 matches.
So, after scoring five against Moldova last week, two against Manchester United in Gameweek 4 and now another against Napoli, the question is: do non-Haaland owners bring him in ahead of City’s trip to Arsenal on Sunday, or wait another week for Burnley at home?
Jeremy Doku (£6.4m) gave another outstanding performance for City on the left, producing a goal of mesmerising quality as he danced past three Napoli defenders to score. The Belgium international also had two shots on goal and completed four take-ons.
PEP ON FODEN
Another standout performer for City was Phil Foden (£8.0m), who backed up his Gameweek 4 goal with a superb assist for Haaland’s opener.
An injury to Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) has given Foden his chance to reclaim his place, and he has grasped his opportunity with both hands. Foden was the second-highest scorer with 230 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points only two seasons ago, so managers looking for an elite midfielder at a bargain price should put the 25-year-old on their Watchlist.
“Of course, we have one more man in the middle. Phil in that position is incredible.
“You cannot imagine how much we missed him – this is the Phil we know when he played close to Haaland and was the best player in the Premier League.
“Last year he could not be there. His sense of danger close to the box. We are so happy, as I know he is happy and has joy – and when his life is fine, the rest is natural and his incredible talent comes along.
“Everyone in our life we need to be loved. Some people are sensitive, and he is a guy who needs to feel embraced. With me, with the club. After that he is the player that he is.” – Pep Guardiola on Phil Foden
City are beginning to purr, and with Rodri (£6.4m) also getting back to his best (albeit the Spaniard played for only an hour), they are looking strong at both ends of the pitch. Slowly but surely, City assets are starting to become more attractive, and even Giuanluigi Donnarumma (£5.5m) could come into the reckoning as a set-and-forget goalkeeper if he maintains his form. Two clean sheets out of two is a decent start.
A caveat to all of the above is that Napoli were down to 10 men after only 21 minutes, which obviously gave City a massive leg-up. Arsenal, assuming they can keep 11 men on the field in Gameweek 5, will be a different proposition entirely.
ELANGA LIVELY, MURPHY ASSIST
Newcastle got off to a strong start against Barcelona and might have taken the lead had Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) not been denied by Joan Garcia in the first half. Unfortunately for the Magpies, a return to England for Marcus Rashford brought the best out of the on-loan Barça forward and two goals of the highest order gave them a mountain to climb.
Creditably, they gave themselves hope when Gordon, who had missed an earlier chance, reduced the arrears with a smart finish from Murphy’s cross. Bruno Guimaraes (£6.5m) and Sandro Tonali (£5.4m) saw long shots saved, and their European opener ended in defeat.
Other takeaways from the match are the positive performances of Elanga and Murphy.
Elanga was a surprise recall given how well Murphy had played against Wolves in Gameweek 4, but he terrorised Barcelona left-back Gerard Martin with his searing pace and he might have had two assists, but for better finishing from Gordon and Barnes. Murphy also played well after coming on for Elanga, providing the assist for Gordon’s goal with a superb cross.
WHY WOLTEMADE WAS A SUB
Nick Woltemade (£7.0m), meanwhile, looked bright in his brief cameo, and he will hope to make the most of the service from the right against Bournemouth, as he did against Wolves in Gameweek 4.
Howe explained why he benched Woltemade and Murphy after they combined for a goal last weekend.
“It was a really difficult one for Nick [Woltemade]. Of course, any player would want to start every game, but I’ve got to try and manage him into the team and try and make sure he stays fit. And I think that was always at the heart of this decision. Of course, knowing that we have Anthony [Gordon] suspended as well for the next game.
“And it’s the same with Jacob [Murphy]. He’s nursing an Achilles problem and we just want to keep the majority of the squad fit and available for as many games as possible.” – Eddie Howe
TRIPPIER + SCHAR INJURIES
Though Newcastle matched Barcelona for long spells, it came at a cost. Injuries to Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) and Fabian Schar (£5.0m) have made them doubtful for Gameweek 5 – and now almost certainly out in Schar’s case.
Trippier had to hobble off after seemingly straining something when making a last-ditch challenge to stop Rashford from getting a shot off.
Schar also fell victim to Rashford, who beat him to Raphinha’s cross to head in the opening goal, leaving the Swiss defender looking bamboozled with his hands on his knees. It then became clear that all was not right with Schar, who had been hit full in the face by an earlier Rashford rasper.
Worryingly for Schar, this is the second time he has suffered what appears to be a concussion injury, having also succumbed earlier this season against Liverpool.
Schar was replaced by Malick Thiaw (£4.9m), the summer signing from AC Milan, who could have the unenviable task of trying to blunt Bournemouth’s attack in Gameweek 5. If Trippier is unavailable, we may see Tino Livramento (£5.1m) switch sides to right-back and Lewis Hall (£5.4m) come in at left-back.
