Gameweek 14 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) got off to a flyer with a nine-goal thriller between Fulham and Manchester City, plus Everton’s narrow win at Bournemouth.
Here are a few talking points from Tuesday night.
CENTURIAN HAALAND ENDS GOAL DROUGHT
Fulham and Manchester City shared the joint-seventh highest-scoring match in Premier League history as Pep Guardiola clung on for a dramatic 5-4 win at Craven Cottage.
It was a great day for the neutral, and Fantasy Premier League managers who captained Erling Haaland (£14.9m), not so much for owners of Man City defenders or goalkeepers, nor indeed those who were banking on the Norwegian continuing his goal drought.
Haaland had not scored for three matches, but punished the doubters by scoring his 100th Premier League goal in record time (111 matches, beating Alan Shearer’s record of 124). He also produced two assists (his second and third of the season), but managers who captained him or even Triple-Captained him will have been frustrated by the ones that got away.
Haaland had five shots in total, hitting the post with two of them when he looked a certainty to score. A hat-trick would have taken his tally up to at least 20 points.
“Congratulations. It’s incredible. Impressive. What can I say. Today he was outstanding, the best of the last few games, when maybe he was not involved and active, today he was unbelievable, he made a fantastic goal, had a chance to score with a fantastic pass, one on one against Leno.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland record
“Enjoy it, hopefully he is starving and hungry to continue his career in this club and continue to make more and more goals. I didn’t expect these numbers. I knew what he did before was incredible but this is incredible. He make me very happy.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland record
FODEN FLYING HIGH
Those managers who brought in Phil Foden (£8.2m) on the back of his stellar display in Gameweek 13 were also richly rewarded. He had not hit the net all season before the weekend and now, like London buses, Foden goals are all coming in pairs.
Foden scored a brace and even earned defensive contribution (DefCon) points for a 17-point return. The England international, who was an FPL write-off last season, has bounced back impressively, returning 32 points in the last two weeks.
He is also creating chances, producing two against Fulham as City raced into a four-goal lead. Over the last six weeks, Foden ranks top among midfielders for expected goal involvement (xGI).
DOKU DELIVERING
Jérémy Doku (6.6m) also delivered on his recent good form with a pair of assists, along with three shots and three passes into the penalty area. Only Yankuba Minteh (£6.3m) has more assists this season than Doku’s seven, while in the last six Gameweeks no midfielder has had more penalty area touches (39).
City’s other scorer, Tijjani Reijnders (£5.3m), selected ahead of Rayan Cherki (£6.4m), provided a reminder of what he can do in front of goal with an assured finish from Haaland’s through-ball, but the midfielder hadn’t scored since Gameweek 1, suggesting his goal was an outlier in a bizarre game.
DEFENSIVE DISASTERCLASS
For all of City’s wild attacking play, the rather large elephant in the room is that they conceded four goals. But for a last-ditch goal-line clearance by Joško Gvardiol (£5.8m), they’d have shipped five. Fulham actually outshot Man City by 12 goal attempts to 11, in what is growing evidence of uncharacteristic shakiness at the back from Guardiola’s side.
City have now conceded at least twice in their last four matches in all competitions, which will make owners of Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.7m) and Nico O’Reilly (£5.2m) nervous. The full-back is a wonderful, perpetual goal threat, but is clearly no guarantee of clean sheets.
“It’s a new team for many players and they will learn, The two Nicos and Mateus learning a new position and Tijjani and we need to correct things and we will need to to win games.” – Pep Guardiola on integrating new players
“We played a fantastic game, I know the feeling, but I take incredibly positive things about what we have done, to come here and score five goals against that team and the way we played in the first half.” – Pep Guardiola on City’s performance
“We could make the 6-3 and then after one second they make the 5-4 and the push with the people and in the Premier League it’s normal what happened and then we showed character resilience, defending and we did what we had to do.” – Pep Guardiola staying positive
“Gvardiol cleared one off the line but he also he had a chance to score. It’s normal you speak about how bad we were and the situation but what of Gvardiol scores, then is a different story.” – Pep Guardiola on Gvardiol’s clearance
CHUKWUEZE IMPRESSIVE
Fulham deserve immense credit for the near fightback. There was a time when teams would wave the white hankie when 5-1 down to Man City, but this is a different version of them. It is also a different Fulham, whose difference maker was second-half substitute Samuel Chukwueze (£5.3m).
The AC Milan loanee had only one shot fewer than Haaland during his 45-minute cameo and terrorised the defence with his direct running, mazy skills and two goals. The exciting attacker should also have had a hat-trick, but he blazed over after dancing past a clutch of bystanders.
Chukwueze is no flash in the pan, either. He produced back-to-back assists in Gameweeks 12 and 13, making him one to keep an eye on.
WILSON ONE TO WATCH
Harry Wilson (£5.2m) rubber-stamped his excellent form with two assists, following two goals from the last five matches, while Emile Smith Rowe (£5.6m), on his first start since Gameweek 9, produced a delightful diving header.
The former Arsenal man also had four shots in this crazy basketball-like match. Fulham’s other goal came from another ex-Gunner, Alex Iwobi (£6.4m), who had also not produced an attacking return since Gameweek 5, while Timothy Castagne (£4.3m) notched his first assist of the season.
MORE DEFCON FOR TARKOWSKI
Elsewhere, Everton’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth was not quite as memorable, but it will have made David Moyes just as happy. That’s three wins and clean sheets out of four for the Merseysiders.
“We’ve won three of the last four. We had a disappointing defeat at the weekend but the players have bounced back well and kept a few clean sheets as well which is always important.” – David Moyes on another clean-sheet win
James Tarkowski (£5.4m) moved on to 18 DefCon points, placing him only two behind Marco Senesi (£5.0m), who was suspended for this game.
Everton’s top points scorer, Michael Keane (£4.5m), was unable to add his own DefCon because it was decided that he shouldn’t play through an injury, as he had in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Newcastle United. In came Jake O’Brien (£4.9m) at centre-back, with James Garner (£5.0m) deputising at right-back.
GREALISH ON SONG
However, it would be wrong to assume this was a battling, gritty win. Everton were worthy of their victory, outshooting their hosts by 13 shots to five.
Jack Grealish’s (6.6m) winner, his second goal of the campaign, was spawny in the extreme, taking a deflection on its way in, but the midfielder has been more deserving of his six attacking returns to date.
Only two midfielders have created more than his 25 chances this season. It’s hardly his fault that teammates have not been converting them.
Chief among those culprits has been Thierno Barry (£5.7m), who remains goalless since his summer arrival and brought his banjo to the proverbial barn door once again to no avail against Bournemouth. Barry had four shots and tops Tuesday’s expected goals (xG) underperformers chart (-0.75).
NDIAYE BLANKS AGAIN
Carlos Alcaraz (£5.2m), playing in the absence of the suspended Idrissa Gana Gueye (£5.4m) also missed his fair share of three good chances.
And Iliman Ndiaye (£6.6m) had a decent chance to score his sixth goal of the campaign, only to shoot straight at Đorđe Petrović (£4.5m). Ndiaye owners might want to cash in on a midfielder who has blanked in four consecutive matches.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, are in freefall. The Cherries have lost four from five, coming back to draw the other against West Ham United. They’ve mustered only two clean sheets from 10, which makes keeping hold of Senesi a questionable decision.
SELL SEMENYO?
Their other concern is the form of Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m). After rattling off six goals and four assists throughout the opening eight gameweeks, he hasn’t produced anything since.
Semenyo was involved in much of Bournemouth’s best work here and had three shots on goal, one of which was repelled by a smart Jordan Pickford (£5.5m) save in the first half. But he was largely kept quiet by Garner and his price is beginning to weigh heavily for managers casting envious glances towards Foden, Doku or Bruno Guimarães (£6.7m)
“Garner did a great job Semenyo who has been in top form at the minute and also Dewsbury-Hall who played ever so well in midfield – I thought tonight he might just have been the difference for us. He did a lot, had to play a bit deeper tonight because we are missing some midfield players, so I’m so pleased with him.” – David Moyes on James Garner neutralising Antoine Semenyo
Eli Kroupi Jr (£4.6m) got the nod ahead of Evanilson (£7.0m) and was unlucky to have a goal ruled out for offside. Yet, in all honesty, they struggled to live with an Everton side driven forward by the powerful running of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£4.9m) and the guile of Grealish.
“I said that to him then, I thought he was so good. He played in a more deeper role today. I was so tired towards the end of the game and he had the ball a few times and was driving with it and playing passes. That is what you need.
“I told the lads in the dressing room that when you come to places as difficult as this where they are going to be on you, you need players to take a lot of touches and want the ball and not be afraid to stay on the ball. Kiernan was brilliant at that tonight.” – Jack Grealish on Kiernan Dewsbury Hall playing in a deeper role
