In his FPL Gameweek 38 review, Fantasy Premier League author David Wardale charts the winners and losers from the final fixtures of a topsy-turvy season.

Man City or Liverpool for the title was the headline clash, with another last-day 3-2 thriller winning it at the Etihad.

But relegation and European qualification issues meant there was much at stake from top to bottom.

And an FPL Gameweek 38 review just wouldn’t be the same without captaincy fails and differential hauls transforming mini-league and overall rankings from Aachen to Zanzibar in the global game that is the Fantasy Premier League.

You can catch all of our FPL Gameweek 38 tips right here.

FPL Gameweek 38 Review – The Winners

Before we delve into the individual match reports, a quick recap of the winners (and losers) in both the Premier League and its fantasy equivalent.

Champions: Man City

Final Champions League Spot: Spurs thrashed Norwich to hold off Arsenal, who thumped Everton to no avail

Relegated: Burnley, who lost to Newcastle while Leeds won at Brentford

Golden Boot Winner: A brace at Carrow Road and one at Anfield meant Heung-Min Son (£11.2m) and Mo Salah (£13.1m) shared the award, with 23 goals apiece

FPL Gameweek 38 Review – The Fantasy Winner

As things stand, with bonus still to come in, it looks like the leader going into the gameweek, Jamie Pigott and his ‘Futbol Is Life’ team, held on to secure the title.

His lead was just one point, from Suvansh Singh’s ‘Concrete Boys’ team.

But Suvansh took a hit of -4 to bring in three players for the gameweek, whereas Jamie made just the one move – Ryan Sessegnon (£4.4m) for Ruben Dias (£6.2m).

That worked a treat as he secured clean-sheet points from the Spurs man – a rarity on a day when only two teams managed a shut-out.

Jamie finished, pre-bonus and bench points, with 62 points, Suvansh with 63.

But with that -4 to be factored in, it looks like the former has won the FPL title for 2021/22.

That, and a late, late assist from Reece James (£6.5m). Such are the margins.

Then again, a Marcos Alonso (£5.7m) no-show should mean Jamie is due two more points from Teemu Pukki (£6.1m) on his bench to further cement his FPL glory.

This is, it must be stressed, all yet to be confirmed.

FPL Gameweek 38 Review – The Headliners

Manchester City 3 Aston Villa 2

An astonishing comeback from 2-0 down secured Man City the league title.

Goals from Matty Cash (£5.3m) and Philippe Coutinho (£7.1m) had given Aston Villa a healthy lead 69 minutes into an increasingly fraught Etihad encounter.

The pair were in the top five for Gameweek 38 transfers-out.

That set much of the tone for the fantasy day, with a host of well-backed assets – especially defenders – producing precious little.

Substitute Ilkay Gundogan (£7.1m) got one back and then all hell broke loose.

City were level two minutes after that thanks to a Rodri (£5.5m) goal – his fourth in six starts – and then Gundogan finished Kevin De Bruyne’s (£12.1m) low ball across the area just three minutes later.

That meant some points for De Bruyne’s 18.6% ownership, but their most popular FPL asset, Joao Cancelo (£7.2m and 41.4%) blanked on a day when clean sheets were the exception not the rule.

City’s other assists came from Raheem Sterling (£10.5m) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.3m) – two Pep Guardiola substitutions that helped change the game.

Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) and Lucas Digne (£5.0m) were Villa’s assisters.

And so the title was won in amazing circumstances.

But the game was a damp FPL squib, that De Bruyne assist aside.

Liverpool 3 Wolves 1

Liverpool did what they had to do – eventually – to give themselves a chance of winning the league before the madness at the Etihad rendered it all meaningless.

The key fantasy takeaways were generally negative as Mo Salah (£13.1m) came off the bench to score and punish the 878,685 who’d made him the gameweek’s most sold player.

And an early goal from Pedro Neto (£6.2m), set up by Raul Jimenez (£7.5m), wiped out the hopes of a clean sheet for the 37.9% who had Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m) in their teams.

That meant a third straight blank for him.

But there were returns to be had from Liverpool’s backline, most notably from Andy Robertson (£7.3m), who scored the Reds’ third goal on the day.

Joel Matip (£5.3m), meanwhile, assisted for Salah’s strike.

The centre-half was also due maximum bonus for a sixth straight haul and an incredible 10^th time in his last 11 starts.

Liverpool’s equaliser came from Sadio Mane (£11.8m) and assists went to Thiago (£5.3m) and Roberto Firmino (£8.7m).

FPL Gameweek 38 Review – The Battle For Fourth

Norwich City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 5

Spurs confirmed their Champions League status for next season with a drubbing of Norwich in which Heung-Min Son (£11.2m) scored twice to claim a share of the Golden Boot.

The Tottenham midfielder was the gameweek’s most popular purchase and he was captained by the vast majority (79%) of the top 10k teams.

He was also handed the armband by the top two FPL managers fighting it out for the FPL crown, so his 12-point haul – a sixth double-digit return since Gameweek 29 – was entirely welcome.

A booking, and other big performances at Carrow Road, kept him out of the bonus point standings, however.

The big winners on the day were the 10.9% who stuck by Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m).

A net 67,000 had sold him for the gameweek, only for the midfielder to score twice and bring in maximum bonus for a season’s-best 16 points.

Talk about saving the best ’til last…

Harry Kane (£12.5m), almost inevitably, was the other scorer. He also set up a goal and received bonus for an entirely respectable 10 points.

There were two assists (and two bonus) for Rodrigo Bentancur (£4.9m), so he also produced his best ever fantasy return (11 points), with sub Lucas Moura (£5.9m) the other to set up a goal.

Tottenham managed to keep a clean sheet – a Gameweek 38 rarity – as Norwich failed to have a single shot on target.

Canaries keeper Tim Krul (£4.5m), by contrast, made seven saves as Tottenham battered their opponents back to The Championship on the way to that coveted fourth-place finish.

Arsenal 5 Everton 1

Arsenal swatted aside an Everton team clearly still nursing a relegation-survival hangover, but Tottenham’s equally emphatic win meant it was all for nothing.

Well, for a Europa League spot, but you know what I mean.

There was not a huge amount of fantasy cheer on display at the Emirates as the 12.3%-owned Richarlison (£7.6m) didn’t even make the squad.

And a Donny van de Beek (£5.7m) goal – yes, really – meant no clean sheet for the Gunners. Again.

The Arsenal goals all came from a selection of not-particularly-well-owned players.

All, that is, bar the 11.5%-owned Eddie Nketiah (£5.7m), who scored his fifth goal in seven starts to round off a fine late-season burst of form at his pleasingly low price.

The other scorers were Gabriel Martinelli (£5.3m), Cedric Soares (£4.2m), Gabriel (£5.3m), and Martin Odegaard (£5.6m).

None of those are owned by more than 7.4%, however. And in Cedric’s case, by just 0.4%.

The full-back also provided an assist to top the bonus charts and bring in 14 points for his 38,794 acolytes.

The other assisters were Martinelli (who finished with 12 points), Nicolas Pepe (£6.9m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.7m), the latter bringing a measure of good cheer to his 28.8% ownership.

Everton’s assist went to Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.7m) – a third straight return for the handsome devil.

The rather less pulchritudinous – it’s the final day of the season, so I’m allowed to show off – Jordan Pickford (£4.8m), at 6.3% the second most popular Toffee in FPL, didn’t make the squad.

That was, as it turned out, a bullet dodged for those with him in their side.

His replacement, the veteran Asmir Begovic (£4.0m), scored just a point.

FPL Gameweek 38 Review – The Relegation Rumble

Brentford 1 Leeds United 2

A late Jack Harrison (£5.5m) winner confirmed Leeds United’s Premier League survival, but it was other players who dominated our FPL thoughts.

Chief among them was Brentford striker Ivan Toney (£6.9m), who was the fifth most bought player of Gameweek 38.

His 320,000-odd new fans boosted his ownership to 18.8%.

A yellow card and not a lot else ensued, leading to a one-pointer for the match’s most popular player.

But the runner-up in those particular stakes, Leeds midfielder Raphinha (£6.3m and 11.6%), had a much better time of it.

He opened the scoring from the penalty spot and brought in bonus for an 11-point haul – his best of a fine season that produced 11 goals, four assists and 147 points.

A Sergi Canos (£5.5m) equaliser, from a Yoane Wissa (£5.7m) assist, ramped up the drama.

But the scorer’s dismissal for a second yellow, just two minutes after his goal, eased some of the tension and Harrison’s goal did the rest.

Burnley 1 Newcastle United 2

A brace from Callum Wilson (£7.1m) sent Burnley to The Championship in a match with plenty of drop-zone drama but precious little fantasy cheer.

The Newcastle forward, brought in by a modest amount of managers for the gameweek, opened the scoring from the penalty spot and sealed the deal with a second from Allan Saint-Maximin’s (£6.7m) cross.

That assist boosted the scores of 10.9% of FPL bosses – easily the biggest fantasy impact of the match.

A goal back from Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet (£5.8m), by contrast benefited 0.8%.

And that was that, really.

Burnley offered little fantasy joy this season and, in fact, ended up trolling us through a series of double gameweeks towards the end of the campaign.

Newcastle were transformed by Eddie Howe’s appointment as manager, although their fantasy improvement passed most of us by.

Whether they’ll be able to kick on and command our attention next season remains to be seen.

FPL Gameweek 38 Review – The Rest

Leicester City 4 Southampton 1

Popular Leicester Gameweek 38 picks James Maddison (£6.9m) and Jamie Vardy (£10.3m) delivered in fine style as Southampton finally got the nod to make their way to the beach they’ve been eyeing for a number of weeks.

The midfielder scored (for the fourth start running), added an assist and earned maximum bonus for 13 points – his third straight double-figure tally.

Vardy also made it into double digits, thanks to a goal and an assist.

A late double from Ayoze Perez (£5.7m) rounded out the scoring.

Other assists came from Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) and Ricardo Pereira (£5.2m).

The talk around the Foxes is that the squad will be revamped over the summer. Whether Maddison stays or goes, he’s likely to be in any number of Gameweek 1 teams next season.

The Saints have flattered to deceive, and their goalscorer at the King Power, James Ward-Prowse (£6.4m), has been head and shoulders above his teammates in FPL.

His final season total of 159 points was 56 better than his nearest challenger, Che Adams (£6.5m), and more than 100 ahead of the assister at Leicester, Stuart Armstrong (£5.8m).

Chelsea 2 Watford 1

Such was the state of this deadest of rubbers, a late assist from Reece James (£6.5m) was the biggest fantasy event by a country mile.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel had suggested he was going to make changes for the match, prompting much anguish among those who own the wing-back.

The manager was true to his word, but James made the starting XI, whereas his fellow defender, Marcos Alonso (£5.7m), didn’t even make the squad.

Kai Havertz (£7.9m) also got the nod and opened the scoring from Alonso’s replacement, Kenedy (£4.5m).

Yep, Kenedy, whose four points on the day (and for the season) was enjoyed by 1,358 managers – and especially the 63 geniuses who bought him for the gameweek.

Watford actually managed to equalise thanks to Dan Gosling (£4.7m).

Yep, Dan Gosling, whose six points on the day (and 11 for the season) was enjoyed by 2,522 managers – but not the 74 who sold him for the gameweek.

The assist came from Adam Masina (£4.3m).

And then came the James assist, which sent 19.1% of managers home happy.

The goal he set up was scored by Ross Barkley (£5.2m).

Yep, Ross Barkley, etc, etc…8,216 managers, yadda yadda.

Brighton and Hove Albion 3 West Ham United 1

Brighton finished the season in style with a come-from-behind win over West Ham that included a goal from the in-form Danny Welbeck (£6.0m).

The Seagulls’ fine run of form looked to be under threat when Michail Antonio (£7.3m) scored for the second time in three starts, having gone goalless in the previous 15.

But Graham Potter’s side scored three times after the break, through Joel Veltman (£4.2m), Pascal Gross (£5.6m) and Welbeck.

That was the striker’s fifth straight haul and a second 11-pointer in four starts.

Assists came from Gross – he finished with 13 points – and Solly March (£5.3m).

Crystal Palace 1 Man United 0

And so, finally, we come to United.

No Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.1m), who was injured, meant diminished fantasy interest in a side of diminished footballing credibility.

So not too many of us were disappointed in their loss.

Even fewer, alas, were bothered by Crystal Palace’s win, secured by the 8.5%-owned Wilfried Zaha (£6.9m).

The clean sheet – only the second of Gameweek 38 – benefited even more of a minority, with keeper Vicente Guaita (£4.6m and 5.6%) the most popular of the Eagles’ backline.

He made four saves and brought in maximum bonus for a very tidy ten-pointer.

So well done him.

And well done you, if you’ve managed to read this far.

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