IT takes something special to outscore Erling Haaland (£7.9m) on a Premier League weekend.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£4.5m) did just that on Saturday with a dramatic hat-trick against Bournemouth.
Crystal Palace twice came from behind to draw 3-3 at Selhurst Park and their French striker might have won the exciting contest in the 99th minute but skied a golden chance.
Mateta’s Dream Team backers won’t mind too much about that late twist as he delivered 26 points, comfortably the highest tally of Gameweek 8 so far.
It was a genuinely remarkable performance from the 28-year-old, who registered 11 shots across the 90 minutes.
In terms of shots on target, he’s now closer to Manchester City’s No9 than anyone else in the chasing pack.
MOST SHOTS ON TARGET AMONG DREAM TEAM PLAYERS THIS SEASON (ALL COMPS)
- 22 – Erling Haaland
- 17 – Jean-Philippe Mateta
- 10 – Anthony Gordon
- 10 – Antoine Semenyo
- 10 – Bryan Mbeumo
- 9 – Mohamed Salah
- 9 – Viktor Gyokeres
Unsurprisingly, Mateta’s mega haul has propelled him up the rankings.
He’s now second only to Haaland among forwards having notched 69 points in total, seven more than the out-of-sorts Salah.
The scary thing for Dream Team bosses without Mateta in their ranks is that Gameweek 8 is far from over.
The Eagles are due to host AEK Larnaca in the Conference League on Thursday night.
Oliver Glasner might choose to rest his first-choice forward to some degree against Cypriot opposition but Mateta may only need a few minutes to add more points to his tally.
It’s early days but Palace’s No14 is currently the most popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 9, a clear reaction to the weekend’s events.
However, the timing is slightly awkward as the Eagles are due to face both Arsenal and Liverpool away from home in Gameweek 9 — a tough double header on paper.
That being said, Arne Slot’s side have lost four games in a row and so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Mateta scored at Anfield in the Carabao Cup at the end of the month.
There’s no sugarcoating a trip to the Emirates in terms of fixture difficulty as the Gunners have conceded just three league goals so far this campaign.
Mikel Arteta’s side are averaging 0.38 goals conceded per league game in 2025/26, a better rate than Chelsea’s record-breaking defence under Jose Mourinho in 2004/05.
Sunday’s game will test Mateta’s pedigree but the broader point is that he seems to be among the strongest options to accompany Haaland up front in the world of Dream Team.
His ownership has grown to 10.4% since his hat-trick and will surely increase further as Friday’s deadline nears.
Dream Team in association with Midnite
BET £10 GET £20 +50 free spins – CLAIM HERE
*18+ New UK customers. Bet £10 on accas with 4+ legs, min odds 3/1 (4.0). Get 4x £5 Free Bets and 50 Free Spins, valid for 7 days on selected bets and games only. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
