It was somehow inevitable that Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.5m) would have the final say in Sunday’s clash at Wembley.
Manchester United’s new talisman outmuscled Leicester City skipper Wes Morgan (£5.0m) to head home the winner, the signal for another wave of Fantasy Premier League managers to acquire him for their squads. Ibrahimovic is now found in 36% of FPL line-ups.
Before his decisive intervention, it is fair to say the Swede struggled to make an impression, completing just 66% of his passes. He mustered two attempts on goal over the 90 minutes, although both were inside the Foxes' penalty area, ensuring that he led the ICT Index rankings for Threat with 75.
He had few challengers in that respect.
Leicester’s Jamie Vardy (£10.0m) ranked second, topping the charts for penalty-area touches but totalling just 29 Threat, courtesy of a single attempt on target, his equalising goal.
That was one of just two accurate efforts as Claudio Ranieri’s men struggled for an end product.
Wayne Rooney (£9.0m) fired in more attempts than any player, although two of his three shots were from outside the area. He was also the most creative player on show.
The United captain tallied 44 for Creativity in the ICT Index, creating a trio of chances for team-mates, while also supplying six crossed ball attempts and 11 successful passes in the final third.
Although he started in a support role behind Ibrahimovic, Rooney shared an almost identical average position to his team-mate on the day, with both dropping deep into central areas to dictate play.
That is indication that Jose Mourinho will need to give that partnership time to develop but also that midfield runners could benefit, as evidenced by Jesse Lingard’s first-half strike.
Lingard (£6.0m) will have piqued the interest of FPL managers with his goal, although having suffered a knock in the second half, his starting role at AFC Bournemouth could be in doubt.
Antonio Valencia (£5.5m) was the other stand-out FPL asset.
The Ecuadorian is found in just 5.6% of squads but registered his fourth assist of pre-season with a dinked cross for Ibrahimovic's winner.
Valencia received 10 passes in the final third, supplying four crossed balls. Notably he also amassed 10 clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), indicating he will be in the mix for bonus points, particularly when United claim clean sheets.
Eric Bailly (£5.5m) impressed on his competitive debut, but Daley Blind (£5.5m) surpassed him for CBI (10 v 8) in a solid display that could allow him tp retain a starting role for Sunday’s trip to Vitality Stadium in the absence of the suspended Chris Smalling (£6.0m).