The Bonus Points
The home side dominated the Fantasy Premier League bonus points at Anfield in an impressive 4-1 defeat of Leicester City.
Roberto Firmino (£8.4million) narrowly pipped Sadio Mane (£8.9m) to first spot in the Bonus Point System (BPS) by 53 to 50.
The Brazilian scored twice and completed 46 passes and four recoveries against the champions.
Mane produced a goal and an assist, in addition to five successful dribbles and as many recoveries, to collect a pair of bonus points.
Adam Lallana (£7.1m) was awarded a single additional point after firing his second goal of the season. The Reds midfielder registered 51 completed passes and nine recoveries for a BPS tally of 29.
The ICT Index
Firmino was ranked top of the ICT Index in Saturday’s match with a score of 18.3.
Starting wide left against the Foxes he registered three shots on target and created four chances for his team-mates.
Firmino has now recorded 44.0 in the Index overall, placing him second only to Chelsea's Eden Hazard (£10.3m) in the midfield standings.
Daniel Sturridge (£10.0m) clinched second spot in the Index, despite only collecting a single assist in the 4-1 victory. The striker fired three shots inside the box and four efforts on target, edging Mane to third by a score of 14.7 to 14.6.
In addition to his goal and assist, Mane managed three key passes and a pair of attempts on target. He was runner-up to Firmino for successful passes in the final third, by 20 to 21.
The Scout Notes
Jurgen Klopp’s decision to introduce Philippe Coutinho (£8.2m) off the bench after a long-haul flight back from international duty the Merseysiders’ strength in depth, though could impact on the Brazilian's ownership.
Firmino’s brace, allied with assists from James Milner (£6.5m) and Georginio Wijnaldum (£7.8m), also illustrates the array of Liverpool options available to FPL managers in the centre of the park.
Already, six Reds midfielders have produced at least 14 points after the first four Gameweeks.
With Dejan Lovren (£5.0m) ruled out due to an eye injury, Klopp’s decision to utilise Lucas (£4.4m) as a central defender backfired after the Brazilian made an error leading to the Foxes' consolation goal courtesy of Jamie Vardy (£9.9m).
After netting against Swansea City, Vardy has now scored in back-to-back Gameweeks and remains Leicester's main goal threat, producing three of their seven shots from inside the box.
By comparison, both of Riyad Mahrez’s (£9.4m) efforts came from distance The Algerian has relied on his opening-day penalty at Hull City for returns so far, having blanked for three consecutive Gameweeks.
Mahrez has lost more than 100,000 FPL owners since Gameweek 1.
At the other end of the pitch, Luis Hernandez (£4.4m) could take up the right-back role for the Gameweek 5 trip to Burnley should Danny Simpson (£5.0m) be ruled out with the hamstring that forced him off in the first period at Anfield.
