The third-most popular captain pick in Gameweek 36+ of Fantasy Premier League rewarded his backers with an assist for Manchester United on Thursday night.
Bruno Fernandes (£9.1m) returned six points in the 2-0 win at Crystal Palace, rubbing further salt into the wounds of the managers who instead opted for Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£10.8m).
Salah was the No 1 captain choice for a record 14th time in 2019/20, with more than one million trusting him with the armband, but he blanked in Liverpool's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal and returned only two points.
A further 958,000 FPL managers who made De Bruyne the second-most popular pick were also disappointed after the Belgian was an unused substitute in Manchester City's 2-1 win over AFC Bournemouth.
But Fernandes was the top vice-captain among those who gave the armband to De Bruyne, so 158,257 managers will at least enjoy seeing their armband switching over to the Portuguese.
GW36+ most-captained players
| Player | Captained by ('000s) |
|---|---|
| Salah | 1,039 |
| De Bruyne | 958 |
| Fernandes | 604 |
Among the leading 100 FPL managers Christian Pulisic (£7.4m) was the top captain selection.
The American repaid his backers with an assist against Norwich City in the opening match of Gameweek 36+, his seventh attacking return since the competition's resumption.
GW36+captains by FPL's top 100
| Player | Captained by |
|---|---|
| Pulisic | 30 |
| Sterling | 17 |
| Fernandes | 12 |
The 17 elite managers who opted for Raheem Sterling (£11.8m) will still be ruing their decision.
Sterling was also the most-popular signing for the Gameweek among all FPL managers but his 230,000+ new owners would have had their head in their hands as he was benched.
While he did come on at half-time, Sterling was only able to bring home one point against AFC Bournemouth.
It is the 17th time in 35 Gameweeks that the most-bought player has blanked, and the second time in a row after Mason Greenwood (£4.9m) missed out on attacking returns in Gameweek 35+.
There was better news for owners of Sterling's team-mate Gabriel Jesus (£9.8m), who was the second-most popular addition and scored the second goal in City's 2-1 victory.
Danny Ings (£7.5m) completed the top three for transfers in and the Southampton striker delivered with his 20th goal of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.
With matches to come against AFC Bournemouth and Sheffield United, his 173,000+ new owners will be hoping he can catch Jamie Vardy (£9.8m) in the race for the Golden Boot.
GW36+ most transfers in
| Player | Transferred in by ('000s) |
|---|---|
| Sterling | 230 |
| Jesus | 179 |
| Ings | 173 |
A host of FPL managers made room for Sterling by transferring out Salah, the second most-sold player in the Gameweek after his disappointing blank against Burnley last weekend.
On the other hand, Raul Jimenez (£8.1m) punished his sellers again after being among the top three transfers out for a third successive Gameweek.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers forward followed up his weekend goal against Everton with another at Burnley on Wednesday.
Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu (£4.9m) was removed by over 307,000 people following his red card against AFC Bournemouth. The three-match ban means he will miss the rest of the season.
GW36+ most transferred-out players
| Player | Transferred out by ('000s) |
|---|---|
| Soyuncu | 307 |
| Salah | 136 |
| Jimenez | 128 |
