Captained by a season-high 6.3million Fantasy Premier League managers - his biggest backing in just under a YEAR - Erling Haaland (£14.5m) has extended his outstanding start to the campaign, delighting his backers.
Haaland scored twice in Manchester City's 2-0 win at home to Everton and claimed the maximum three bonus for a 13-point haul, or 26 with the armband.
GW8 most-captained players' points
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 6,329,472 | 13 |
| Salah | 1,556,348 | 2 |
| Joao Pedro | 727,875 | 2 |
| Semenyo | 428,350 | 4 |
| Gyokeres | 400,322 | 2 |
The last time the Norwegian was captained in such high numbers was in Gameweek 9 last season, when 6.4m managers backed him for Man City's 1-0 win over Southampton. But with Haaland in such great form - indeed, he's never had this many points after eight Gameweeks - that figure is only set to rise.
He's been among the four most-bought players in each of the last four Gameweeks and has been added to 5.5m teams since Gameweek 1. He is now the most-selected player in Fantasy, found in 64 per cent of teams.
At his most popular, in Gameweek 6 of 2023/24 Fantasy, he was in 92.3 per cent of all teams.
Haaland's best start in Fantasy
| Opponent | Returns* | Pts | |
| GW8 | Everton (H) | 2G, 3B | 13 |
| GW7 | Brentford (A) | 1G, 2B | 8 |
| GW6 | Burnley (H) | 2G, 1A, 3B | 16 |
| GW5 | Arsenal (A) | 1G, 3B | 9 |
| GW4 | Man Utd (H) | 2G, 3B | 13 |
| GW3 | Brighton (A) | 1G, 3B | 9 |
| GW2 | Spurs (H) | - | 2 |
| GW1 | Wolves (A) | 2G, 3B | 13 |
*G=Goal, A=Assist, B=Bonus
Otherwise it was a disappointing weekend for the rest of the top five captains, with only Antoine Semenyo (£8.0m) providing a return.