More than 1.2million Fantasy Premier League managers were rewarded for captaining Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) in Gameweek 9, including the overall leader Sehar Bajraktaraj.
Salah scored both of Liverpool's goals in their 2-0 win over Everton, becoming the first FPL midfielder to surpass 10 attacking returns this season in the process.
Already 11 points clear heading into this round of fixtures, Bajraktaraj extended his place at the top of the leaderboard thanks to Salah's 16-point haul.
The Greece-based manager also benefited from transferring in his compatriot Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.4m), who replaced the injured Andrew Robertson (£6.6m) in Liverpool's starting XI and delivered a six-point return.
In total, 30 managers among top 100 entrusted their armbands to Salah, who has proved a shrewd differential pick in 2023/24.
The Egyptian outpointed the more popular Erling Haaland (£14.0m) for the sixth time in the opening nine Gameweeks.
Haaland scored in Manchester City's 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion but could earn only six points before any potential bonus.
GW9 top 100 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 49 | 8 |
| Salah | 30 | 16 |
| Son | 5 | 14 |
| Maddison | 4 | 9 |
| Fernandes | 4 | 7 |
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur duo Son Heung-min (£9.5m) and James Maddison (£8.1m) both rewarded their managers after returning at home against Fulham on Monday night.
The Spurs captain produced a 14-point haul against the Cottagers thanks to a goal and assist while Maddison netted for the first time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to collect nine points.
Not only was Maddison among the most-captained players for Gameweek 9 but, after Salah, he was the second-most bought midfielder ahead of the deadline, gaining 344,535 new owners.
Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) also profited against statistically the worst defence in the top flight.
Manchester United beat Sheffield United 2-1 in the late kick-off on Saturday, and the Portuguese playmaker registered an assist to help his side gain the victory.
GW9 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 6,011,011 | 8 |
| Salah | 1,240,743 | 16 |
| Son | 850,666 | 14 |
| Maddison | 243,325 | 9 |
| Watkins | 237,541 | 11 |
Snapped up by over 475,000 Fantasy bosses, Ollie Watkins (£8.2m) was the most-recruited player this round ahead of Aston Villa hosting West Ham United.
Top of the forward standings heading into Gameweek 9, he was looking to avoid the "curse of the most transferred-in player".
Kieran Trippier (£6.9m) was the only most-bought player of the first eight Gameweeks to produce a return, racking up 12 points in Gameweek 7. The other six all blanked.
But Watkins delivered for his new owners with a goal and an assist in Villa's 4-1 win over West Ham.
Also in this series
Part 2: Gameweek 9 FPL bonus points
