More than 8million Fantasy Premier League managers endured huge frustration as the top three captains all blanked in the final Gameweek before the FIFA World Cup 2022.
It was a promising start to the day for +6.5m of them as Erling Haaland (£12.2m) overcame a persistent injury to start. But that joy quickly disappeared as he scored only one point in Man City's 2-1 loss to Brentford.
The game's highest scorer managed only one blocked shot and even picked up a yellow card, blanking for the first time at home in FPL.
It meant the +1m managers who instead captained Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) could enjoy a huge points swing if the Egyptian returned against Southampton, a team he had scored 52 points against in his last five meetings with.
But although Liverpool won 3-1, Salah failed to score or assist and managed only two points.
GW16 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by (000's) | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 6,570 | 1 |
| Salah | 1,022 | 2 |
| Jesus | 641 | 2 |
The day's misery was compounded in the final match of the day, as Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) let down his 641,000+ backers.
The Arsenal forward had returned 34 points across his previous four starts against opponents Wolves. But he was unable to continue that form and could only match Salah's two-point haul despite the Gunners winning 2-0.
GW16 most transferred-in players
| Player | Transferred in by ('000s) | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Almiron | 493 | 6 |
| Solanke | 350 | 5 |
| Haaland | 343 | 1 |
Miguel Almiron (£5.8m) continued to be bought in large numbers, among the top two recruits for a third successive Gameweek, with more than 2,449,000 people bringing in the midfielder over that period.
He maintained his remarkable run of form, providing an assist in Newcastle's 1-0 win over Chelsea to make it nine attacking returns in his last eight appearances.
A home fixture against Everton lifted the appeal of Dominic Solanke (£5.8m).
No team conceded more shots in the box than Everton's 167 over the opening 15 Gameweeks.
That trend continued as AFC Bournemouth won 3-0, with Solanke registering an assist and five points.
GW16 most transferred-out players
| Player | Transferred out by ('000s) | Pts |
| Mitrovic | 742 | 0 |
|---|---|---|
| Foden | 482 | 9 |
| Dalot | 434 | 0 |
More than 482,000 managers were made to pay for losing patience with Phil Foden (£8.3m), who was the second most-sold player ahead of the deadline.
He started for the first time in four Gameweeks and rewarded the faith of his remaining 2.3m owners with a goal and two bonus points.
There was no danger of either Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.8m) or Diogo Dalot (£4.8m) upsetting their sellers because they both missed Gameweek 16.
Mitrovic was ruled out with injury, while Dalot was suspended.
See: Fantasy Premier League stats
Also in this series
Part 2: GW16 Bonus points
Part 3: Saturday review: Centurion Kane closes in on Haaland
