For the second successive Gameweek. Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) left it late to reward his 2.96million backers in Fantasy Premier League.
Having provided a stoppage-time goal in Gameweek 1, Salah produced an assist in Liverpool's dramatic win at Newcastle United to the relief of those who captained him. A five point-return, or 10 with the armband, extends his excellent record against the Magpies.
He's faced Eddie Howe's side 17 times since joining Liverpool and in that time he's totalled 126 points, thanks to 10 goals, nine assists and 14 bonus points. Indeed, they are his favourite opponent; he's racked up more points against them than any other Premier League adversary.
GW2 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 2,964,007 | 5 |
| Haaland | 1,842,111 | 2 |
| Palmer | 1,254,142 | 0 |
The No 1 captain choice, Salah's late assist was even sweater considering that both Erling Haaland (£14.1m) and Cole Palmer (£10.5m), second and third in the captaincy stakes, combined for a total of two points in Gameweek 2.
Haaland blanked in Manchester City's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur while Palmer was injured in the warm-up of Chelsea's win at West Ham United.
Salah's last seven matches v Newcastle
| Gameweek | Venue | Pts | Breakdown* |
|---|---|---|---|
| GW2 - 2025/26 | Away | 5 | 1A |
| GW27 - 2024/25 | Home | 6 | 1A |
| GW14 - 2024/25 | Away | 18 | 2G, 1A, 3B |
| GW20 - 2023/24 | Home | 16 | 2G, 1A, 3B |
| GW3 - 2023/24 | Away | 5 | 1A |
| GW24 - 2022/23 | Away | 6 | 1A |
| GW5 - 2022/23 | Home | 10 | 2A, 2B |
*G = Goals, A = Assists, B = Bonus
For the 1.25m managers who captained Palmer, their vice-captains will now assume the armband and earn double points.
That's bad news for the 117,563 who vice-captained Haaland and the 54,732 who opted for Ollie Watkins (£9.0m). Watkins blanked for a second successive Gameweek as Aston Villa fell to a 1-0 defeat at Brentford.
But it's good news for those who vice-captained Joao Pedro (£7.5m) or Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m).
Joao Pedro scored a goal and supplied two assists to deliver 30 points with the armband. Only once before in Fantasy has he recorded more points in a match. That was against Spurs in Gameweek 19 of the 2023/24 campaign, when he notched 16 points.
And making his home debut, Gyokeres announced himself to Fantasy managers with two goals and a share of the bonus to delight his vice-captainers with 24 points in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Leeds United.
Salah completed the top five Palmer vice-captains.
Palmer vice-captains
| Player | Vice-captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 323,557 | 5 |
| Haaland | 117,563 | 2 |
| Joao Pedro | 100,618 | 15 |
| Gyokeres | 60,419 | 12 |
| Watkins | 54,732 | 2 |
There were mixed fortunes elsewhere, too.
The top transfer target for Gameweek 2 was Man City's Tijjani Reijnders (£5.7m), recruited by more than 1.2m people, but he was unable to repeat his Gameweek 1 heroics as he blanked in Man City's loss to Spurs, getting only two points.
However, over 655,000 managers are celebrating their decision to buy Hugo Ekitike (£8.6m) as he scored for the second successive match. Indeed, the Premier League newcomer tops the Fantasy forward standings following the opening two games on 20 points.
And AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo (£7.2m) picked up an assist for a six-point return to reward his 988,523 new owners.
Most transfers for Gameweek 2
| Most transfers in | Most transfers out | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reijnders (MCI) | 1,270,360 | Frimpong (LIV) | 1,208,379 |
| Semenyo (BOU) | 988,523 | Wirtz (LIV) | 617,226 |
| Wood (NFO) | 706,035 | Konsa (AVL) | 565,684 |
| Ekitike (LIV) | 655,678 | Gvardiol (MCI) | 495,960 |
| Ballard (SUN) | 543,268 | Joao Pedro (CHE) | 487,254 |
Reijnders wasn't the only transfer to backfire.
Sunderland defender Dan Ballard (£4.6m) was bought by 543,268 FPL managers, making him the fifth most-bought player for Gameweek 2, but he limped off with an injury early on against Burnley on Saturday, getting only one point.
And Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood (£7.6m) was unable to convert either of his two attempts on goal at Crystal Palace, as he finished on two points.
Meanwhile, the 487,254 FPL managers who sold Joao Pedro ahead of Gameweek 2 suffered agony as he racked up a total of 15 points against the Hammers.