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Fantasy Focus: Costa crushes expectations
As recently as last month there were reports that defender Alberto Costa ($4.0m) could be on his way out of the Juventus door after failing to see much game-time following a mid-season move from Vitoria Guimaraes.
On a warm evening in the American capital, the 21-year-old wing-back showed he absolutely belongs in the Bianconeri ranks.
In a 5-0 rout of UAE side Al Ain at the FIFA Club World Cup™, the Portuguese starlet was swimming in fantasy points with a pair of assists, a clean sheet and the scouting bonus (at just 1.4% ownership) helping him secure a whopping 15-point return.
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That was a mark matched by the clinical forward Randal Kolo Muani ($8.0m) while pint-sized problem-maker Francisco Conceicao ($5.7m) also starred for Juve with a 14-point outing.
Elsewhere, Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden ($8.1m) caught the eye with a goal and an assist as he racked up 14 points but there were a slew of highly-owned assets that produced low returns.
In the case of the game’s most owned player, Kylian Mbappe ($11.0), that was a zero as he was laid low with a virus. Those who had invested in the likes of Manchester City forward Erling Haaland ($11.0m) and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior ($11.0m) will also be hoping for much more than the lone point they produced in their first tournament outing.
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Manchester City 2-0 Wydad AC
Star players
MID Phil Foden (Manchester City, $8.1m) – 14 points
MID Jeremy Doku (Manchester City, $7.0m) – 11 points
DEF Nathan Ake (Manchester City, $5.6m) – 9 points
Low returns
FWD Erling Haaland (Manchester City, $11.0m) – 1 point
MID Rodri (Manchester City, $6.2m) – 1 point
FWD Omar Marmoush (Manchester City, $8.0m) – 2 points
Real Madrid C.F. 1-1 Al Hilal
Star players
FWD Gonzalo Garcia (Real Madrid, $5.1m) – 10 points
GK Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal, $5.0m) – 9 points
MID Ruben Neves (Al Hilal, $6.3m) – 9 points
Low returns
FWD Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid, $11.0m) – 1 point
DEF Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid, $6.4m) - 2 points
MID Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, $9.3m) - 2 points
CF Pachuca 1-2 FC Salzburg
Star players
MID Oscar Gloukh (Salzburg, $6.1m) – 11 points
DEF Bryan Gonzalez (Pachuca, $4.2m) – 10 points
MID Mads Bidstrup (Salzburg, $5.7m) – 8 points
Low returns
FWD Petar Ratkov (Salzburg, $5.8m) – 1 point
DEF Stefan Lainer (Salzburg, $5.0m) – 2 points
FWD Salomon Rondon (Pachuca, $6.0m) – 3 points
Al Ain FC 0-5 FC Juventus FC
Star players
DEF Alberto Costa (Juventus, $4.0m) – 15 points
FWD Randal Kolo Muani (Juventus $8.0m) – 15 points
MID Francisco Conceicao (Juventus, $5.7m) – 14 points
Low returns
GK Rui Patricio (Al Ain, $5.0m) | -2 points
FWD Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain, $6.0m) – 2 points
MID Weston McKennie (Juventus, $6.0m) – 2 points
Next up (Thursday 19 June)
Palmeiras v Al Ahly FC
Inter Miami CF v FC Porto
Seattle Sounders FC v Atlético de Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain v Botafogo
Highest owned players in action
DEF Achraf Hakimi (PSG, $6.5m) – 45.4%
DEF Nuno Mendes (PSG, $6.2m) – 31.8%
MID Ousmane Dembele (PSG, $10.0m) – 25.2%
MID Desire Doue (PSG, $8.2m) – 24.6%
MID Emam Ashour (Al Ahly, $4.7m) – 21.6%
Differentials
Is there a world where one of the game’s all-time greats is a differential? That could be the case with the iconic Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi ($10.5m) seeing his ownership drop significantly after a modest three-point return in his first outing.
With the boosters now in play and many opting to use the wildcard for Matchday two, there appears bargains aplenty to be had. While it’s unlikely that PSG academy product Senny Mayulu ($4.4m) will back up his previous 12-point outing, at a budget price he may be worth the punt.
Elsewhere, Botafogo forward Igor Jesus ($4.1m), lively Palmeiras defender Joaquin Piquerez ($5.1m) and Seattle tempo-setter Cristian Roldan ($5.5m) are all lowly owned producers that could help savvy investigators surge up the rankings.
