MLS Fantasy 2018: Gameweek 29 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 30
For the 2018 MLS Fantasy season there is a 'Rolling Lockout', which means you can make substitutions and transfers until the second a player's game kicks off, which means you can chop and change your lineup as any Gameweek progresses.
You can view the schedule and a real time Gameweek deadline countdown clock (in the London GMT timezone) on our dedicated MLS Fantasy page.
MLS Fantasy Week 29 - Player of the Week: Luciano Acosta (DC)
MLS Week 29 was a high-scoring week with 49 goals from 12 fixtures, an average of nearly 4 goals-per-game. Toronto bested LA Galaxy 5-3, Sporting KC decimated San Jose 5-1 away from home, D.C. United were held to a 3-3 home draw against New York Red Bulls, Montreal dominated Philadelphia 4-1 on the road, lowly Houston thumped Portland 4-1 and in a battle of the bottom in the East, Chicago thrashed Orlando 4-0.
This all adds up to a strong pool of candidates lining up to stamp their claim as the best individual performer, especially with MLS Fantasy players in mind. Bradley Wright-Phillips notched a treble against D.C. United, there were 8 different scorers for Toronto and LA Galaxy, whilst Gerso scored twice and assisted twice for Sporting KC in a single Gameweek to take SKC top of the West.
At the beginning of the season we started the Player of the Week articles to highlight select individual in MLS who are key performers and players to raise awareness in the league, and in the past few months there has been no better example of this than Luciano Acosta.
Luciano Acosta’s Week 29 Points – D.C. United 2-1 Minnesota United
90 mins played: 2pts
2 assists: 6pts
5 tackles: 1pt
86 passes: 2pts
5 shots: 1pt
Total: 12 points
Luciano Acosta’s Week 29 Points – D.C. United 3-3 New York Red Bulls
90 mins played: 2pts
1 goal: 5pts
1 assist: 3pts
4 key passes: 1pt
1 big chance created: 1pt
6 recoveries: 1pt
Total: 13 points
With D.C. United playing a majority of their fixtures at Audi Field in the second-half of the season, this is the third time in recent months that Acosta has got our attention. This week, with an unmatched 25 points for MLS Fantasy players, the quarter of a century of points is another case of being unavoidable for us.
Acosta was influential in both fixtures for D.C. United this week, assisting both goals in a tightly fought 2-1 home victory against Minnesota, and was our key played in DC's 3-3 draw against the Red Bulls. Acosta teed up Arriola for DC's first and then later ran through the RBNY defence from the left of DC's attack to chip beautifully past Luis Robles.
For Fantasy players, Acosta has been essential since Wayne Rooney's arrival to MLS, scoring 7 of his 8 league goals since Wazza's debut, as well as 6 of his 13 assists.
Acosta's rise has come out of the blue, especially considering there were doubts about his playing time once the former England captain arrived in the capital, but there's a real sense of belief and Acosta is the one who is attributing with more attacking returns to make an unlikely play-off push becoming a reality.
D.C. United aren't in action for Week 30's affairs, with Acosta's side returning to action a week later for a huge play-off clash against Montreal Impact at Audi Field. Montreal are 4 points clear of DC in 6th in the Eastern Conference. A victory for United will put them just a single point behind Montreal with a game to play.
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All aboard.
