MLS Fantasy 2018: Gameweek 2 Review - Player of the Week
After each round of matches for MLS Fantasy players, we'll be providing our Player of the Week, the player who we think is deserving of top spot, even if they didn't finish on the most points for a week. We'll take a look at the impact the player is having on his team, as well as the MLS Fantasy returns that they are providing. Strap in, it's time to get nostalgic. All aboard.
MLS Fantasy: Gameweek 3
For us in the UK, the first game of the weekend starts at 5:30pm, with D.C. United hosting Houston Dynamo. Five teams miss out on the action this weekend, and there are nine matches to be contested. You can check out the fixture list in full below.
You can also read all of our MLS Fantasy articles on our specialist page, by clicking here.
Gameweek 2: Real Salt Lake 1-5 LAFC
After opening day heroics, with LAFC winning away from home at Seattle Sounders, with Diego Rossi scoring the only goal of the game, perhaps writing was on the wall about LA's potential heading into a second fixture on the road.
Travelling to Real Salt Lake, a side who have been deemed as one of the favourites to challenge for the Western Conference, LA still possessed a 'wildcard' tag above their names, but not many (if any) would have pegged a dominant and attacking performance that would blow RSL away.
The home side took the lead when Dejan Jakovic took down Joao Plata in the box. Plata's penalty was saved by by Tyler Miller, but the rebound was poked by by Plata at the second time of asking.
Ten minutes later on the half-hour mark Marco Urena teed up Diego Rossi to score his second goal for the club, and just three minutes later Steven Beitashour squared a ball in the six-yard box for Latif Blessing to put LAFC ahead. Rossi would then hit the post after 38 minutes, before half-time hit with the away side in the lead.
Less than two minutes into the second-half, Steven Beitashour played a low cross from the right side that Benny Feilhaber slotted home to make it 3-1. Diego Rossi then calmly finished past veteran shot-stopper Nick Rimando to make it 4-1 after 81 minutes, before Rossi played in Carlos Vela on 86 minutes, with the Mexican international dinking the ball over Rimando to make it 5-1.
You can view all of the highlights below.
LAFC Starting 11 vs. Real Salt Lake
Manager: Bob Bradley
Formation: 4-3-3
*All MLS Fantasy prices are accurate heading into Gameweek 3*
Starting 11
Goalkeeper
GK - Tyler Miller ($5.5m)
Defender's
LB - Joao Moutinho ($5.5m)
CB - Dejan Jakovic ($5.5m)
CB - Laurent Ciman ($6.5m)
RB - Steven Beitashour ($6.0m)
Midfielder's
CM - Benny Feilhaber ($9.3m)
CM - Mark-Anthony Kaye ($6.2m)
LW/RW - Latif Blessing ($6.7m)
RW/LW - Diego Rossi ($10.2m)
CAM - Carlos Vela ($10.5m)
Forward
CF - Marco Urnea ($7.7m)
Gameweek 2 - Player of the Week: Diego Rossi (LAFC)
Alberth Elis (Houston Dynamo) took the honours of being our first Player of the Week, despite not being the top points-scorer of the week. We cited that Elis was a live-wire in Houston's attack, the go-to man that made the Dynamo tick. Diego Rossi, who is also listed as a Forward in MLS Fantasy, takes many of the same plaudits after coming away from Gameweek 2 as the talk of the town.
Rossi finished Week 2 as the top player, managing to become the first player this season to finish with 20+ points in a single Gameweek, with Rossi scoring 23pts.
Rossi's performance against RSL is one that will live long in the memory for MLS fans, managing 2 goals and 3 assists (though in MLS terms the assist of the assist is also taken into consideration, aka the key pass) in just his second appearance.
What made Rossi so dangerous against RSL was his speed and precision. His vision to pick out a pass, and to be lethal in the attacking third is going to be a great quality, regardless of the opposition in MLS. With every team there for the taking, there shouldn't be any pressure on players not to pick LA's main man in future fixtures.
Diego Rossi was selected by 682 players during Gameweek 2, 2.7% of players, a number that will be greatly improved on when Bob Bradley's side take to the field next time out.
LAFC don't feature for two Gameweek's, sitting out week's 3 and 4, before returning to action during Week 5's visit to LA Galaxy, the first meeting of both Los Angeles based teams.
The 2018 MLS Fantasy Season
MLS has returned, and you can join our very own MLS Fantasy League by clicking here, or alternatively by using the league code RDPUAHR2 whilst on the MLS Fantasy site, or checking out our pinned tweet on our @HypeTrainMLS Twitter account. We'd love to have you aboard for the ride.
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The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, live sport, and professional wrestling.
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All aboard.
