Minus points galore from Anfield nightmare puts schedule-first Dream Team strategy to the test for Man United backers
WHILE many neutrals would have enjoyed the perverse entertainment provided by Liverpool’s 7-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, plenty of Dream Team gaffers would have been wincing as they goals flew in.
Erik ten Hag’s troops are popular men in the world of Dream Team and with good reason.
Prior to Game Week 25, the Red Devils were the highest scoring team in the game having plundered one more point than neighbours Man City collectively.
However, the massacre of Anfield has taken its toll.
David de Gea (£3.9m) is the second-most popular goalkeeper with an ownership of 16.1% and the second-best performer overall but he incurred minus six points when all was said and done this weekend.
It was a similar story for Raphael Varane (£3.5m), Tyrell Malacia (£3.5m), Diogo Dalot (£3.9m) and Luke Shaw (£4.1m), the latter being the seventh-most selected defender currently.
Lisandro Martinez (£4.4m) suffered the most damage having been booked before he was substituted in the 76th minute.
The Argentine World Cup winner endured minus seven points and, needless to say, he is Game Week 25’s worst performer so far.
It’s a crucial blow for the sizeable chunk of Dream Team bosses backing Man United assets, particularly those who used some of their March transfers to bring in a Red Devil or two prior to this weekend’s match-up.
The heavy defeat on Merseyside will be the ultimate test of whether tailoring one’s team to the schedule is the best approach.
Ten Hag’s side face Real Betis over two legs in the Europa League, host Southampton in the Premier League, and welcome to Fulham to Old Trafford in the FA Cup quarter-finals before the international break.
In contrast, Liverpool have just two fixtures to fulfil in the same time frame and one of those is a trip to Real Madrid.
On paper, Man United assets should outscore their rivals this month but Sunday’s result has thrown a spanner in the works.
While the visiting defenders suffered badly, pretty much every player involved for the hosts cashed in to some degree.
Mohamed Salah (£8.6m) was predictably the big winner with a 21-point haul with Cody Gakpo (£3.6m) and Darwin Nunez (£5.2m) following up with 13 points each.
Dream Team gaffers with De Gea, Shaw and Martinez in their team would probably be wise to trust the process and check back on their net returns in a fortnight.
If the 7-0 thrashing at Anfield proves to be something of a one-off then it can be stomached.
If it’s a sign of things to come then that’s a different story but managers should resisting overreacting now as the outlook should be brighter in two weeks’ time.