Gameweek 5 featured a number of goals that required further review before Fantasy Premier League points could be finalised.
In addition to the goals credited to Everton's Romelu Lukaku (£9.3) and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez (£11.0m), a selection of assists also came under scrutiny.
Such decisions offer an opportunity to highlight the process involved in reviewing goals for FPL purposes, plus the criteria used when finalising assists.
The basic definition of an assist is simple: three points are awarded to the player from the goalscoring team who makes the final pass before the ball finds the net.
However, when the path of that final pass is interrupted, an assist can sometimes require review before the FPL points are confirmed.
The rules state that if an opposing player touches the ball after the final pass before a goal is scored, significantly altering the intended destination of the ball, no assist is awarded.
The key here is the intent of the player supplying the pass and the intended destination of the ball.
The assist awarded to Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.8m) for Marcus Rashford’s (£6.8m) goal against Watford is a good example of how these rules are interpreted.
Ibrahimovic’s cross rebounded off a defender, deflecting it back into Rashford’s path. That touch off the defender did significantly alter the path of the ball but, crucially, it was not seen to change its intended destination or target.
The Swede’s cross was clearly aimed at Rashford at the near post and, via the defender’s touch, eventually reached this area and its target. The assist was therefore awarded.
The level of intent on a pass becomes more difficult to judge at set-plays when a dead-ball is delivered into a crowded penalty area.
We saw this with James McArthur’s (£4.9m) goal for Crystal Palace against Stoke City on Sunday.
Jason Puncheon (£5.5m) was awarded the assist because it was adjudged that he intended to play a cross into the box for an attacking player to convert.
The touch by the Stoke defender was not deemed to have significantly altered the intended destination of the cross, that is the crowded penalty area.
McArthur picked up the ball via the cross and the defender’s failed clearance and scored the goal.
In this example, the intent and the extent of the touch off the defender combined to reward Puncheon with the assist.
Had the defender’s touch been significant enough to divert the ball to a player deemed to have not been an intended target, no assist would have been awarded.
Assists are reviewed throughout a day’s matches and after the final whistle. Some assists may not appear in-game until they have gone through this process.
In this way, FPL points can remain subject to change, normally up until one hour after the final whistle of the last match of any given day.
Only when the points are updated, reflecting the bonus points on that day, will no further reviews and adjustments take place.
The FPL Gameweek 6 deadline is at 11.30am BST Saturday 24 September
