Mohamed Salah & Bukayo Saka quickest out the blocks to remind gaffers they’re must-have assets
THE opening weekend of the new season ticked a lot of Dream Team boxes.
Erling Haaland (£7.5m) scored, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.5m) created big chances, and last season’s top three sides all kept clean sheets.
Leicester and Tottenham players will have the final word but as it stands, two familiar superstars will top the rankings after Gameweek 1 in Mohamed Salah (£7m) and Bukayo Saka (£6m).
The former scored and assisted as Liverpool beat Ipswich 2-0 on Saturday.
The Tractor Boys did well to restrict the visitors for an hour at Portman Road but the Reds’ attacking quality shone through in final half hour.
Liverpool’s Egyptian hero, in his 350th game for the club, put it on a plate for Diogo Jota (£4.5m) before bagging his customary opening weekend goal five minutes later.
No player registered more shots on target (three) over the weekend and so Salah banked 15 points by the final whistle – doubled to 30 for those who captained him.
Not long after, Arsenal’s No7 also registered a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win to underline his status as one of Dream Team’s top-tier assets.
Saka provided an inviting cross for Kai Havertz (£4.5m) midway through the first half and scored a trademark finish in the second half with a powerful left-footed effort past Jose Sa (£2.5m).
The England international also registered three shots on target and would have been the outright top performer had he not been booked, which dropped him down a point to 15 from 16.
Salah and Saka’s status as early joint-leaders is a reminder to all Dream Team bosses of the need for premium options.
Finding value-for-money difference-makers is an important aspect of the game but so is recognising which of the expensive stars are worth the investment.
Only Haaland started the campaign with a higher price than Salah while Saka is the joint-third most-costly midfielder alongside Cole Palmer (£6m) and Bruno Fernandes (£6m).
Their combined cost added to Haaland’s price equals £21.5million – 43% of each gaffer’s starting budget.
Committing this much cash to three players means having to make sacrifices elsewhere but the trio’s return of 39 points in Gameweek 1 speaks for itself.
Salah’s form dropped away at the back end of last season but the broader point is that he has finished among the top point-scorers in Dream Team for seven consecutive campaigns, having averaged 30 goals (all comps) per season during that time.
Combine his historical pedigree with a fast start and Liverpool’s relatively favourable fixtures until October and it already seems curious that approximately three quarters of gaffers decided to go without him from the get-go.
It will be interesting to see to what degree his ownership rises before Brentford’s visit to Anfield in Gameweek 2.