James Maddison sends FPL dig after Tottenham win over Southampton as assist controversy continues

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Evening Standard

·16 December 2024

James Maddison sends FPL dig after Tottenham win over Southampton as assist controversy continues

Maddison was not awarded assist points for Heung-min Son’s first-half goal

James Maddison poked fun at the ongoing Fantasy Premier League debate over assists after Tottenham’s big win over Southampton.

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The midfielder scored twice in the first-half as Spurs took a 5-0 lead into the break, opening the scoring inside the first minute before doubling his tally in the final seconds before half-time.

Maddison also played his part in Spurs’ third goal, with his cross deflected into the path of Heung-min Son at the back post and the forward fired in a first-time finish.

FPL players owning Maddison were left disappointed as the 28-year-old was not awarded the assist, and he took to social media after the match to comment on that decision.

Maddison tweeted: “But my intended target was Son… so now what?”

That contributed to the debate over FPL rules on assists, which was ignited again over the weekend.

Lewis Hall was given the three points for assisting Alexander Isak’s goal in Newcastle’s win over Leicester, even though his cross took a big deflection off Conor Coady before reaching the striker.

“After review, the assist for Newcastle’s third goal is awarded to Lewis Hall,” the official FPL account posted.

“The touch on his cross did not deviate it from the intended destination.”

That decision confused many players of the game, who pointed to similar incidents where assist points were not awarded,

Bryan Mbeumo, who is owned by nearly 30% of FPL players, was deemed to have not provided the assist for Kevin Schade last month against Leicester, after his cut-back flicked off a defender.

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