Career Shablo's FMM2019 Strikerless Challenge

[Shablo]

This is my first ever attempt at a challenge, so fingers crossed this goes well!

I started with Barcelona, choosing Coutinho, Malcom, and Dembélé as my three 'attacking midfielders', lining up in a 4-1-2-3. I made some signings and also sold off players, more on that later.

The initial friendlies didn't bode too well, Coutinho was injured in the first game - but was thankfully only out for 2 weeks and was back for the competitive games - and I didn't score in either the first or the second friendly.

The third friendly went better, a 3-1 win against Benfica with Malcom grabbing an assist, and Dembélé scoring one. This should hopefully be a good indication for the season, with Coutinho's stand-in Denis grabbing a goal and an assist (I assumed friendlies don't count towards points?)

One last friendly, with Malcom grabbing the lone assist, and onto the competitive games!

 

First up, the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla. Coutinho was back to full fitness, so came back into the starting XI. 

The game itself was a cagey affair, Coutinho scored first in the 15th (a. Bellerin), before Luis Muriel equalised for Sevilla. Malcom (a. Alba) scored just before halftime, and we looked set to coast to victory with a tidy 2 points from our first game. A first half knock saw Dembélé's fitness drop below 70, so a substitution for Rafinha was made. Umtiti gave away a penalty in the 78th that Muriel buried and suddenly the game was all square. Roll on extra time, and substitute Rafinha scored in the 112th assisted by Malcom, and we saw the game out, leading to 3 points and our first trophy of the season.

Spanish Super Cup (SSC) points: 3

La Liga begins, and first up is a home El Clásico! A 3-1 home victory is a great start, with Coutinho and Dembélé grabbing assists for another handy two points.

 

SSC points: 3, La Liga (LL) points: 2

The transfer window drew to a close, and Barcelona have been busy. Out go Sergi Roberto to Bayern for £135m, Luis Suárez to Man City for £110m, Gerard Piqué to Chelsea for £48m, and B teamer Dani Morer to Vallecano for £1.3m. In comes Héctor Bellerin for £50m from Arsenal, Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie deJong from Ajax for £49m and £40m respectively, and José Gayà from Valencia for £45m. No one wanted to buy Messi, so he's been demoted to the B team alongside Munir leaving no strikers in the first team squad.

La Liga game 2, a rematch against Sevilla arrives, this time it's much more one-sided, with Barcelona having 15 shots to 2. Goals from Arthur (a. ter Stegen), Malcom (a. Dembélé) and Dembélé (a. Alba) see them coasting to a 3-0 win and another 3 points in the bag.

SSC points: 3, La Liga points: 5

[Shablo]

 

After the international 'break', a solitary goal from Malcom (a. Rakitic) sees us past Levante. Not the best result, but another point towards our total.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 6. Games Played: 4

Poor shot accuracy has lead to focussing on Shooting for my front three, which I should hopefully reap rewards from soon. I also attempted to improve the Training Facilities, but the board refused.

I replaced Barcelona's two secondary Physios with a Gold/Natural Prevention and Gold/Natural Rehabilitation as well

Next up is our first Champions' League game against Viktoria Plzen. First-half goals from Rakitic (a. Bellerín), de Ligt (a. Malcom), and a penalty won and converted by Dembélé (missed out on a point here) see us cruise to a 3-0 half-time lead. Despite Plzen playing 35 minutes with 10 men after a red card, we could only add one more goal, substitute Rafinha assisting de Ligt who bags a brace, although Malcom had an offside goal ruled out. Again, we had lots of shots, but few on target. Hopefully the training pays off.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 6, UCL points: 2. GP: 5

La Liga, game 4 sees us play Leganés, and here shooting practice appears to pay off. Malcom grabs a first-half hattrick (a. Semedo, Dembélé, Rafinha), before I substitute all three forwards to keep them fresh. Leganés get one back in the second half, but the damage is done.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 10, UCL points: 2. GP: 6.

Three days later comes game 5 away to Athletic Bilbao and the poor shot accuracy returns. 13 shots, only 3 on target as we have to settle for a goalless draw.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 10, UCL points: 2. GP: 7.

Rounding out September, Alavés come to visit and it's a disaster from the get-go. Dembélé goes down injured in the second minute, but two first-half goals from Malcom (a. Aleñá) and Rafinha (a. de Ligt) – on for Dembélé – mitigate the impact. Coutinho assists Aleñá, before scoring one of his own (no assister) to increase the points tally by 3 more.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 13, UCL points: 2. GP: 8.

Bad news after the game, as Dembélé is out for a month with a sprained ankle, time to see what Malcom and Coutinho are made of.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Shablo

[Shablo]

October starts with a nice surprise, being awarded Manager of the Month before Liverpool came to town in the UCL.

Against Liverpool, we concede 57% possession, but we don't need it to win, outshooting them 17(12) to 4(1) and winning 3-0 courtesy of an Aleñá double (a. Malcom, Rafinha) and a Denis Suárez goal (a. de Jong). Rafinha slotted seamlessly into the starting line up at CAM with Coutinho moving out wide in Dembélé's absence.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 13, UCL points: 3. GP: 9

Next up, we host second-placed Atlético Madrid, with Denis Suárez filling in at CAM this time. A poor first-half showing leaves us 0-2 down before an Atléti player handles in the box and Coutinho scores the penalty. There's time for Denis to be assisted by Rafinha for the equaliser, but not much else. We retain top spot on the table, 2 points ahead of Atléti's 15 points in second, 3 ahead of Vigo's 14 in third, and there's a 4 point buffer to Real Madrid in 4th on 13 points. Just the one point for the Strikerless Challenge, but a La Liga victory should offset this.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 14, UCL points: 3. GP: 10

After the international break, we hosted Valencia, and despite dominating in chances and shots, we draw 1-1 as de Ligt puts the ball into his own net in the 6th and we have to wait till the 58th for Rocketic to even things up. Malcom took a knock and was withdrawn as a precaution, while Coutinho couldn't establish himself. No points for the challenge, and just the one for the league. Atlético and Vigo won earlier in the weekend, and Real Madrid also put up three points to put the pressure on.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 14, UCL points: 3. GP: 11

Next up is the third UCL game against Shakhtar. Going on the advice of my assistant manager, Riqui Puig comes in at CAM as Dembélé makes his way back to full fitness. Two assist-less goals from Alba and Rakitic are enough to secure victory, but this is the second straight no point game from my front two. I did, however, substitute them to give them a rest.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 14, UCL points: 3. GP: 12

The last La Liga game of the month sees a visit to Eibar, where Coutinho racks up the points, scoring twice (a. Malcom, no assister) and assisting Rakitic.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 18, UCL points: 3. GP: 13.

The last game in October is the Spanish Cup fourth round away to Spanish Third Division Group 4 side Portugalete. Great news, as Dembélé returns to training, and he'll start on the bench as he only has 81% fitness. Puig scores first (a. Aleñá), followed by a Coutinho goal (a. Rakitic), before a Puig injury sees Dembélé make his return just before halftime. It pays off as Dembélé scores in added time (a. Gayà) to take a 3-0 lead to the sheds. We're unable to add to it after the break, though, so we'll take just the two points from the game.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 18, UCL points: 3, Spanish Cup (CdR) points: 2. GP: 14

We also see an improvement to Coutinho, which should hopefully yield some more goals.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Shablo

[Shablo]

We miss out on the MotM award, but Barcelona is sitting top of La Liga, with our Strikerless points tally at 26 at the start of November. 

The first game in November is a visit to Valladolid down in 17th. Fitness issues see Malcom and Dembélé on the bench with a new look front line of Coutinho-Denis-Rafinha. We get off to a good first half, Aleñá (a. Rafinha) scores first, before Umtiti wins a penalty converted by Coutinho. Coutinho (a. Rafinha) grabs one more to finish the half 3-0 up. Aleñá completes a brace after the break assisted by Arthur who came on for Rakitic. Malcom comes on late but can't add to the points.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 20, UCL points: 3, CdR points: 2. GP: 15

Next up, Shakhtar come to town, and Coutinho-Dembélé-Malcom (CDM) start. Shakhtar score first, before a singular Dembélé goal (a. Aleñá) sees both sides end with a share of the spoils.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 20, UCL points: 4, CdR points: 2, GP: 16.

It's a Catalan derby, with Girona in 9th coming to visit. CDM start again, but Malcom and Dembélé are sitting on 90% fitness. An own goal and a Dembélé goal (a. Rakitic) are all that separate the two sides, another three points, but just the one for the challenge.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 21, UCL points: 4, CdR points: 2. GP: 17

[Titjes]

Doing good work

change the tag to career instead of challenge though

[FuddledFox]

Looks like you have made a good start kiu 😁 

 

[Shablo]

43 minutes ago, Titjes said:

Doing good work

change the tag to career instead of challenge though

Oops, cheers

10 minutes ago, Foxy said:

Looks like you have made a good start kiu 😁 

 

Thanks 😁

[Shablo]

After another international break with no injuries, injury strikes again in the first game. Dembélé's back out for 3 weeks after being injured early on while away at Vigo. Malcom and Coutinho performed well without him the first time around, and they pick up the slack again here. Coutinho assisted Semedo first before Malcom scored one back (no assister). Vigo clawed one back after halftime before Coutinho (a. Semedo) comes up with the goods before full time. There's still time, however, for Vigo to get one more in added time.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 24, UCL points: 4, CdR points: 2. GP: 18

Victoria Plzen visits next, and Rafinha takes the CAM slot with Coutinho out left again. Malcom was withdrawn in the second half, but Coutinho bagged a double (a. de Jong, Miranda) to grab another 2 points. This is enough to guarantee qualification ahead of the last game against Liverpool who 3 points behind in second.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 24, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 2. GP: 19

November comes to an end and we pick up another MotM award, while Coutinho also gets Player of the Month. Atléti have played one more, and sit 1 point ahead, but we're three ahead of Real with a game in hand.

Next up, a trip to the Yellow Submarine, and we sink to our first loss of the season, going 1-0 down to a 14th minute Gerard Moreno goal. The good news is de Ligt's injury is superficial, and he's fit to play the next game. Unfortunately, this means we stay a point behind Atléti though.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 24, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 2. GP: 20

 

 

[fmhaberdeenfan]

Good work so far :)

[BatiGoal]

14 hours ago, Shablo said:

This is my first ever attempt at a challenge, so fingers crossed this goes well!

Not exactly the easiest of challenges to start with 😀 but looking good so far. 

[Shablo]

Back for the Copa, holding a 3-0 lead from the away leg we rotate the squad to keep players happy and morale up. Denis assists Aleñá and Coutinho before Malcom grabs an assistless goal. Coutinho (a. Arthur) rounds off the first half scoring,  although Portugalete gets one back in added time. Aleñá grabs another (a. Arthur) after the break, and Malcom comes off in the 68th – might have to think about changing his training focus to Stamina instead.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 24, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 5. GP: 21

Real "Hispalis" come to town next, and a singular Rakitic (a. Aleñá) goal sees us past them. Coutinho and Malcom start but are substituted for fitness concerns.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 24, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 5. GP: 22

The final group game is away to Liverpool, where Malcom starts with Coutinho on the bench. Rafinha (a. Alba) provides the only goal as Iñaki Peña makes his debut in goal.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 24, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 5. GP: 23

Malcom showed improvement, so hopefully, his 17 shooting will see him grab some more goals.

A visit to 4th placed Sociedad, sorry, "San Sebastián" starts off well, Coutinho (a. Denis) gives us a 1-0 lead to the sheds. Malcom comes off in the 78th for Dembélé's return from injury, but nothing doing as it's a one-goal game. Real Madrid beat Atléti 4-3 in a see-sawing encounter (Atléti scored first, Real equalised, then went one ahead. Atléti equalised before Real scored again, then Atléti thought they'd done enough to draw the game with another, but Kroos had the last word in the 86th) to see us top the table before our last game against Huesca.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 25, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 5. GP: 24

Huesca are 19th, but Dembélé is struck by injury yet again, this time only for a week though. With no games after this until January, he should have plenty of time to recover. Coutinho (a. Arthur) scores first, but that looks to be the only goal of the game. With a two week break, Coutinho and Malcom play on and it pays off as Malcom wins a penalty in the 94th that Coutinho dispatches. With a packed schedule coming up, we'll be looking at rotating players a bit more so as to get CDM the most points they can.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 28, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 5. GP: 25

We reach January, and I check Dembélé's coach report. "Very rarely injured" 😕 

We sit on top of La Liga, but Rakitic, Aleñá, and Rafinha have all earnt more points than Dembélé at this stage, could have chosen any of those three instead, but we'll see how it pans out.

The transfer window opens again, and we'll see if we can move Munir and our other B team forwards on, at least on loan, as they keep getting promoted randomly (others have seen this issue). However, as they haven't been assigned squad numbers, the game won't let me play them (even on the bench) without assigning them a number, so we can use that as a test at the end of the season to check.

We start back up hosting Leganés in the Copa, it's 5(!) points in the first half. Malcom (a. Dembélé) and Dembélé (a. Malcom) trade goals/assists, before Coutinho (a. Rafinha), gets in on the act. Coutinho (a. Dembélé) gets another before Leganés pull one back. 7 points in one game to smash our record and is hopefully a sign of things to come.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 28, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 12. GP: 26

Edited November 6, 2018 by Shablo

[Rob]

Some great progress to date. Just out of interest, what does SSC, etc, mean?

[Shablo]

9 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

Some great progress to date. Just out of interest, what does SSC, etc, mean?

SSC = Spanish Super Cup, LL = La Liga, UCL is (UEFA) Champions' League, and CdR is the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey). GP is Games Played

[Rob]

Don’t forget you get points I this challenge for league points and goal difference.

[Shablo]

Back down to earth with back to back 0-0 draws, first in a Catalan derby against Espanyol, then in the return leg against Leganés, was really hoping to pick up points here.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 28, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 12. GP: 27

SSC points: 3, LL points: 28, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 12. GP: 28

We play winless Getafe next and Dembélé grabs a hattrick from set pieces, Arthur and Coutinho win penalties before Coutinho is fouled to earn a freekick. 5 points in the bag.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 33, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 12. GP: 29

Getafe have won just twice all season, and we meet them again in the Copa quarterfinals for another chance to rack up some points. Getafe strike first but Dembélé (a. Semedo) ties it up at the break. Dembélé (a. Coutinho) gives us the lead, and Getafe has a goal ruled out for offside as the game turns out nervier than it should have been on paper.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 33, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 15. GP: 30

Up next is the 19th game of the La Liga season, away to Vallecano. Dembélé (a. Malcom) and Aleñá (a. Coutinho, no assister) have us leading 3-0 at the break, could have been 4 but for an offside flag on Dembélé. A scoreless second means we get 3 points in the league, and 3 points for the challenge. Atléti lose to 12th placed Alavés so we go 3 points clear at the top. Real are 4 back in 3rd, but have a game in hand.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 36, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 15. GP: 31

 

[Shablo]

8 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

Don’t forget you get points I this challenge for league points and goal difference.

Yep, I'm about to cover that here.

We're at the halfway point in the season and have amassed 60 points from 31 games from CDM. 30 more points from our goal difference and 46 more from our league points have us on 136 points for the season.

We're starting to see the front three making their desired impact, switching them around to keep opponents on their toes (in theory, anyway). Of note is Dembélé's impact of 17 points in 19 games, compared to Coutinho's 26 in 31 and Malcom's 17 in 31, if only he hadn't been struck by injury so often. Aleñá's emergence as a goal threat is fantastic and he's a regular first team player now. New transfers de Ligt, de Jong, Bellerín, and Gayà are also regular starters, with Semedo and Alba reduced to cup appearances and off the bench. I'm not planning on making any transfers this window, although Dortmund exercised their option to buy Alcacer early on in the window. Rotation policies are working well, with everyone 'happy'.

Partially due to injury, Dembélé is the only CDM member to not show much improvement at this stage of the season, I would have expected Malcom to score more with his 17 shooting, but I'm pretty happy with how the season's going. We're still in the Champion's League, the Copa, and are top of the table.

[Shablo]

Next up is the return leg against Getafe in the Copa. Arthur (a. Dembélé) and Dembélé (a. Arthur) put us 2-0 up after 10 minutes, but we can't add to our lead.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 36, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 17. GP: 32

Game 20, at home against Sevilla in the league, de Ligt (a. Rakitic), Dembélé (a. Coutinho) and Coutinho (no assister) and a reply from Ben Yedder makes for a goal fest in the first 13 minutes. No more goals before the half ends or in the second period at all, so just the four points.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 40, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 17. GP: 33

Next is an away trip to Sevilla (again) for the Copa, there's no blitzkrieg this time though, Sevilla score through Promes in the first half before Gayà gets himself sent in the 60th. This seems to spur us on as Aleñá (a. Dembélé) grabs one back five minutes later, but Sevilla has the last word, Escudero scoring in the 83rd. A home 1-0 win in the next leg will see us through though.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 40, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 34

January comes to end, and Dembélé has won PotM, making a real impact back from injury. 

We lead La Liga still but face Real Madrid in El Clásico next, a real test of our abilities.

 

[Shablo]

Madrid who? An utterly dominant performance sees a 4-0 Clásico win, with a Rakitic (no assister), and two Dembélé (no assister, a. Coutinho) goals in the first half. Coutinho (a. Arthur) adds to the victory in the second earning a resounding victory.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 44, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 35

Sevilla comes to the Camp Nou for the Copa, but we rest CDM after their efforts against Madrid. Puig scores first (a. Rafinha) before Banega replies. Vidal (a. Rafinha) ties things up on aggregate but Muriel hits what proves to be the winner in the 86th. Arthur (no assister) gets a consolation in added time, but it's too little, too late, we're out in the semifinals. I didn't think it was worth the risk playing CDM, and that backfired here. One less game at the end of the season, but the trophy doesn't count towards the challenge, so that's alright.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 44, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 36

On to the hunting grounds at Levante, Dembélé misses a penalty in the first half, before striking either side of half-time including a second-half penalty (no assisters). Levante hit two back in the 69th and a Bellerín OG in the 89th, so that's two points dropped, but two challenge points gained. Not ideal, but we'll carry on.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 46, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 37

Old Trafford looms, Coutinho and Dembélé are on the bench, but the pressure gets to Umtiti who is sent off in the 9th. Vermaelen then gives away a penalty in the 19th which Fekir buries, and it doesn't look like a good week.  Coutinho and Dembélé are thrown on in the second half but were unable to make any headway. 1-0 Man Utd.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 46, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 38

We play host to Leganés next as we look to break our bad run of form. de Ligt (a. Malcom) has us on the right track before Malcom (a. Coutinho) and Dembélé (Malcom) add to the lead in the second half. 5 more points, and hopefully a springboard for a good run of form.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 51, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 39

Real draw with Sociedad and Atléti lose to Valencia so we're 4 points clear heading into our game against Alavés. A week's rest has us in good spirits, Arthur (a. Rakitic) opens the scoring, but Alavés pull one back for a 1-1 score at halftime. Rakitic (a. Arthur) restores the lead, but an eye on a congested fixture schedule sees CDM all substituted. Two of their replacements combine to score a third, Denis (a. Alba) putting the game to bed.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 51, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 40

 

 

 

[Shablo]

Continuing on, we host Athletic Bilbao, and Malcom (a. Arthur) grabs the lone goal of the game.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 52, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 41

March comes around and we pick up another Manager of the Month, and Dembélé defends his PotM title.

We're top in La Liga, and Dembélé's hitting top form, things look good.

On to Madrid where we face third-placed Atléti. Bellerín scores an own goal in the 26th, but we fire back quickly, 6 minutes later we're 2-1 up through Malcom (a. Bellerín)and Dembélé (a. Arthur). Coutinho (a. Gayà) gets in on the act before Rafinha (a. Arthur) completes the rout. Kalinic gets Atléti a consolation, but it's too little too late for La Rojiblancos.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 55, UCL points: 6, CdR points: 18. GP: 42

After such a dominating performance, we were perfectly set for the return leg of the Champions' League against Manchester United. Indeed, Dembélé (no assister) scores in the 13th and hopes are high but poor shooting again lets us down as United score from their only shot on target in the 81st. 1-1 and we're out of Europe.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 55, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 43

We next struggle to convince in a 2-0 win against Eibar, Malcom (a. Bellerín) scores in the first, but we're kept scoreless until the 87th when Denis (a. Arthur) finally gets one more.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 56, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 44

Just our second loss in the league as a trip to the Mestalla ends to a 92nd Bathuayi goal, and Real Madrid closes the gap to one point.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 56, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 45

A well-timed international break gives us time to recover, but we struggle to score against Girona away on Match Day 29, a single Dembélé (a. Coutinho) goal does the job though.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 58, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 45

Ending March we sit just one point ahead of Madrid having been knocked out of Europe in the first round and the Cup in the semifinals. Hopefully, this frees up our schedule and gives CDM time to recover and grab those goals/assists.

Malcom (a. Coutinho), de Ligt (a. Rafinha) and Miranda (a. Bellerín) take us to a 3-0 win over Valladolid.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 60, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 46

Villarreal visit and Malcom stars assisting Coutinho and grabbing one of his own (a. Denis) as we move closer to the title as Real Madrid draw at home to Leganés. Just 7 games to go and we're 3 clear.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 63, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 47

Vigo are languishing in 13th after their high flying start but they don't show it, beating us 2-1 at the Camp Nou, or goal courtesy of a Rakitic (a. Arthur) strike. Real Madrid wins against Alavés, and it's all square at the top now, both of us with +50 GD and 77 points. It's only our superior head-to-head record that sees us clinging to first.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 63, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 48

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BatiGoal]

Very tight at the top. No surprise it's hard to score goals without a striker. Hang in there! 

[Shablo]

Sociedad came to the Camp Nou next, Lenglet (a. Rafinha) and Rafinha (a. Alba) securing a 2-0 win, but no points for CDM.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 63, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 49

Closing in on the season end, we try to rack up the points, grabbing three away to Betis courtesy of  Dembélé (a. Aleñà) and Malcom (a. Dembélé) goals.

 

SSC points: 3, LL points: 66, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 50

Fitness concerns see CDM all benched against Huesca, and they're not missed as we stroll to a 3-0 victory. Bellerín (a. Rafinha), Rafinha (a. Arthur), and Lenglet (a. Denis) seeing us through.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 66, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 51

At the end of the month, we sit 2 ahead of Real Madrid with three games to play. We have the best defense in the league, helping contribute to our share of the league-high goal difference of 57. Rafinha picks up Player of the Month as well.

We play at home to Getafe for game 36, and Rafinha continues his fine form, assisting de Ligt and Malcom as we cruise to a 2-1 win – Getafe scoring deep in added time.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 67, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 52

Another 2-1 win, this time in a Catalan derby away to Espanyol, a Malcom brace (a. Arthur, Bellerín) sees us through after falling behind initially.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 69, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 53

And that's all we need! Real lost in round 36 and were yet to play this weekend but they can't mathematically catch us, La Liga champions!

One last game to round us off, and it's a goal-fest. Braces from Coutinho and Malcom, plus a goal from Rafinha see us thrash Vallecano. Coutinho and Malcom picked up assists as well to give us a 6 point haul for our final game.

SSC points: 3, LL points: 75, UCL points: 7, CdR points: 18. GP: 54

Malcom wins Player of the Month and we pick up another Manager of the Month award to boot.

Finishing the season off, CDM shared 19 Player of the Match awards between them and finished 3rd, 4th, and 2nd respectively in the Pichichi race.

Cavani picked up the Pichichi and Player of the Year awards, but Dembélé finished second, a solid effort considering he was injured for a sizeable portion of the season.

Despite all the Manager of the Month awards, we end up second to Míchel of Vallecano who led them to safety.

Malcom and Coutinho win slots in the La Liga Team of the Season, and Bellerín grabs a spot in the Champions' League Dream Team, despite being knocked out in the first knockout round.

Finally, onto the important part, points tallies. Coutinho notched 24 goals and 14 assists in 53 games, for a total of 38 points at a rate of 0.717 points/game. Dembélé grabbed 23g/8a in 41 games for 31 points at a rate of 0.756 points/game, and Malcom rounds them out with 22g/11a in 53 games for a total of 33 points at a rate of 0.623 points/game. All up we finish with 102 points from assists and goals.

The final La Liga table has us well in front, 8 points clear of Madrid as they collapse in the last 3 games - winning one and losing two. Our superior defense helps our goal difference as we score 84 and concede only 21 for a goal difference of +63. 30 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses let us finish on 95 points.

All up, 104 points from goals/assists, a goal difference of +63 and a final league points total of 95 sees us finish the challenge with 262 points. This was a fun challenge to do, next time around I think I'd be looking at choosing players with higher stamina to play them more as well as choosing a league with 'easier' games to maximize scoring potential.

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2018 by Shablo

[FuddledFox]

Excellent season mate and first name on the leaderboard 👍🏻

[Rob]

Well done and I enjoyed that.

[BatiGoal]

Very good score. Congrats! Let's see how long your name on topspot lasts. 

[Woody]

Very good mate...but be warned @Rob2017 hasnt had his bash at it yet!

He is the master after all 😉

[Rob]

18 minutes ago, Woody said:

Very good mate...but be warned @Rob2017 hasnt had his bash at it yet!

He is the master after all 😉

His first bash has already happened and will be posted soon!

[Woody]

35 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

His first bash has already happened and will be posted soon!

If there is a god....may he have mercy on our souls.

[Rob]

13 hours ago, Shablo said:

This was a fun challenge to do, next time around I think I'd be looking at choosing players with higher stamina to play them more as well as choosing a league with 'easier' games to maximize scoring potential.

I fully recommend Celtic as an easy one as that is what I used in my top score on 18.

You obviously have a tactic there that seems to work well so I’m sure you could smash it at an easier league - just remember that the players won’t be as good though.