MLS Fantasy 2019 Review: End of Season Statistics
The end of the regular season in MLS also means the end of the Fantasy season, with 31 Gameweek's coming and going in rapid fashion between March and the beginning of October. To mark the end of the campaign for us fantasy football addicts, we look back at the key statistics in Major League Soccer in 2019 has had had a direct impact on its Fantasy players this year. All aboard.
MLS Fantasy 2019: End of Season Statistics
LAFC set a record number of points in a 34-game regular season, managing 72 points, which is 1 more point than New York Red Bulls managed in the 2018 season.
Carlos Vela (LAFC) broke the goal-scoring record in the regular season, also beating a record set in 2018. Vela scored a hat-trick during Week 31 on the final day against at Colorado Rapids, meaning the Mexican scored 34 goals in only 31 games. In 2018, Josef Martinez (Atlanta), scored 31 goals in 34 league appearances.
Carlos Vela also broke the record for most MLS Fantasy points in a single season, beating Miguel Almiron's (Atlanta) 268 points achieved in the 2018 season. Vela, who scored 34, assisted 15 and won 4 penalties, managed 363 overall. This also means that Vela is the only player in MLS Fantasy to reach 300+ points in the game.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy) also beat Miguel Almiron's 268 points from 2018 on the final day of the season, with Zlatan's 8 points away at Houston Dynamo, meaning the Swede finished on 272 points.
Carlos Vela is also the only player to finish the season earning an average of 10+ points-per-game. With Vela playing in 31 league games, the Mexican international averaged 11.71 PPG, with Ibrahimovic the next best with a 9.38 PPG average from 29 games played.
Priced at $15.9 million, Carlos Vela also ended the season as the most expensive player in MLS Fantasy. The Forward also finished the campaign as the most selected MLS Fantasy player, being selected by 15.76% of players.
To end the season, Carlos Vela scored in his last 9 MLS appearances, and only failed to score or assist in just 6 matches, meaning the Forward provided a direct attacking returns in 25 of his 31 appearances.
Josef Martinez (Atlanta) registered the long scoring spree in the league, scoring in 15 consecutive games between Week's 13 and 29. In this time, Martinez scored 21 goals and earned 147 of his eventual 234 Fantasy points in that time.
Vela (34), Zlatan (30) and Martinez (27) were the only 3 players in the league to scored 20+ goals during the regular season. There is an 11-goal gap between the 4th top scorer, Diego Rossi (LAFC), who scored 16 goals.
Of the 24 clubs in the 2019 MLS season, LA Galaxy (-1 GD) and New England Revolution (-7 GD) were the only two sides who qualified for the play-offs with a negative goal difference.
LAFC's goal difference at the end of the season was +48, which was more than all the other positive returns, combined. The other 5 clubs who kept a positive difference managed +26 goal difference.
Of the best players in MLS Fantasy for each club, only 3 of the 24 players were defensive assets. Minnesota's Vito Mannone (189 points) was the only Goalkeeper to outscore his teammates, whilst Chicago's Francisco Calvo (166 points), who spent the first-half of the season at Minnesota, and D.C. United's Frederic Brillant (216 points), made up the small 3-person shortlist.
Speaking of D.C. United's Frederic Brillant, only he and Atlanta's Miles Robinson (203 points) his the 200+ score come the end of the season. No Goalkeeper reached 200, whilst 10 Midfielder's and 4 Forward's managed the feat.
MLS Fantasy 2019: Statistic Graphics
Enjoy a selection of graphics that will act as a final resource of the 2019 season, which covers the top points-earners from the season just gone.
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The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
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