FPL GW12 stats: Haaland hits back to match Salah's haul

The 1.5million Fantasy Premier League managers who took the captain's armband off Erling Haaland (£14.0m) were reminded why it is never a safe option to go against him as he produced a big haul against Chelsea on Sunday.

Many turned to Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) for the armband instead. And the Egyptian's backers would have been celebrating wildly as the Liverpool star scored twice and collected maximum bonus points to earn 16 points against Brentford, in a match that kicked off at 14:00 GMT.

However, the benefits of captaining Salah gradually dwindled and then effectively disappeared later in the day as Haaland produced two goals and one assist against Chelsea in the 16:30 GMT match, matching Salah's 16-point haul.

Those who captained Salah at least avoided the fate of those who gave the armband to Ollie Watkins (£8.4m), Son Heung-min (£9.7m) or Bukayo Saka (£8.6m), as the differential trio were blown away by the two highest-scoring players in FPL.

GW12 most-captained players

Given Aston Villa's home form, having won their previous 12 Premier League matches at Villa Park, many would have expected Watkins to produce a strong haul against a Fulham side who were winless in their last three.

The Villa forward had produced nine attacking returns at home prior to the match and though he extended that record to 10 against Fulham, Watkins only delivered six points.

It was worse going for the 469,000 who gave the armband to Son. Before Tottenham Hotspur's match at Wolverhampton Wanderers the Spurs captain had produced 53 points in away matches this season, the most of any player in Fantasy.

But Son could only add to that tally by two points, as Spurs conceded two stoppage-time goals to lose 2-1 at Wolves.

Doubts over the fitness of Saka did not put off more than 269,000 Fantasy bosses from handing him the armband, an increase of 152,000 from the previous Gameweek.

Arsenal's appealing fixture at home to a Burnley, who had conceded the second-most goals this season with 27, seemed like a smart decision. But Saka could only produce a single assist in the match to deliver five points.

Who did the top managers captained?

Most of the top 100 managers would have also been disappointed to not gain an advantage by captaining Salah over Haaland.

Over half of the elite group opted to give the armband to Salah, while 14 captained Haaland.

There was agony for nine of the top 100 managers as they selected Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m), who only got three points in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Luton Town.

Most-captained players by top 100 managers

Also in this series

Part 2: Gameweek 12 FPL bonus points