7 unbelievable stats that tell the story of the Dream Team season
THE Champions League final will bring the curtain down on the 2021/22 season once and for all this Saturday.
And what a journey it's been for Dream Team gaffers.
Here we've selected seven incredible stats that tell the story of a unique campaign.
1 Manchester United were a two-man team
The Red Devils' stuttering form has been one of the most prominent themes of the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo (£7.6m) can hold his head high having returned to Dream Team at the tail end of his career for a mightily impressive return of 225 points.
Bruno Fernandes (£4.7m) couldn't replicate his mammoth returns of 2020/21 but ten goals and 12 assists in all competitions helped him to 151 points.
And that's about it where Old Trafford assets are concerned since nobody else managed to make three figures.
Fred's modest tally of 81 meant he finished as Man United's third-best asset - something nobody would have predicted back in August.
2 A familiar set of names topped the defensive rankings
Have we ever seen such dominance in one position from such a small collective of teams?
Representatives of Liverpool (four), Manchester City (four) and Chelsea (seven) make up the top 15 defenders with the former's crop all residing within the top five with a game in hand.
Top dog Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.7m) needs just two points in Paris to join Mohamed Salah (£7.2m) in the highly exclusive 300 Club™.
The fact seven of Thomas Tuchel's men ended inside the top 15 says everything you need to know about the Blues' airtight defence during the first half of the campaign.
For those interested, Craig Dawson (£3.1m) is the highest-ranked defender from those outside the City, Liverpool, Chelsea elite - the West Ham centre-back mustered 114 points.
3 The worst player in the game was a Germany international
Leeds may have preserved their top-flight status in dramatic circumstances on the final day of the Premier League season but there's no escaping the fact 2021/22 was a comparatively miserable term for the Whites.
Last season, Marcelo Bielsa's swashbuckling philosophy helped them achieve the highest points total for a newly-promoted club in 20 years - their tally of 59 points would have been enough to secure them Europa League qualification this season!
But the bubble burst over the summer and their defence has looked horrendously porous for the most part in recent months - only Norwich conceded more than Leeds' 79 goals.
Koch was the worst sufferer in Dream Team terms and the Germany international ended with a humiliating total of -15 points, one worse than Matt Ritchie (£0.5m).
4 January signings > Summer signings
Plenty of Dream Team bosses had high hopes that Jadon Sancho (£2.4m) would translate his Borussia Dortmund form to Old Trafford and challenge the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£7.9m) for the crown of best midfield asset.
However, the 22-year-old was sucked into Man United's whirlpool of dysfunction and malaise.
He produced 41 points during a fruitful spell between Game Weeks 23 and 28 but the England international's first season with the Red Devils has ultimately been an underwhelming one.
Sancho was one of the most high-profile summer signings but his tally of 62 points was eclipsed by Dejan Kulusevski (£2.9m), Bruno Guimaraes (£3.2m) and Luis Diaz (£4.2m), who were all January arrivals - yikes.
5 Salah versus the world
2021/22 will be remembered as the Mohamed Salah (£7.2m) season.
Liverpool's Egyptian King shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Son Heung-min (£6.6m) and scooped the Best Playmaker award having provided 13 league assists.
Add in eight goals and two assists in the Champions League (with the final still to come) and it's no wonder the 29-year-old has been Dream Team's outright leader for the vast majority of the season.
Barring an extremely unlikely four-goal miracle showing from Alexander-Arnold against Real Madrid, Salah will comfortably take the crown for 2021/22 having amassed 331 points.
To put that total into perspective, it's more than Edinson Cavani (£2.6m), Raul Jimenez (£2.4m), Alexandre Lacazette (£3.6m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£3.8m), Marcus Rashford (£2.7m) and Callum Wilson (£3.3m) managed as a collective!
6 Shining stars
James Maddison (£5.3m) claimed his tenth Star Man award of the season at the weekend to draw level with Harry Kane (£7.9m) at the top of the charts.
And the pair are guaranteed to finish as joint-leaders of this particular metric no matter what happens in Paris this Saturday as Salah and Alexander-Arnold are level on eight each.
Leicester's No10 banked 117 points in the last 13 Game Weeks to surge up the rankings and finish third among midfielders.
Incredibly, England's captain managed to add even more points to his tally in the same time frame, amassing 125 as Tottenham earned Champions League qualification with a strong finish.
Kane's record of ten Star Man awards is particularly impressive given he was in direct competition with the prolific Son on a weekly basis.
7 Take the ball, pass the ball
We have to finish with the Premier League champions.
Man City won their fourth league title in five years and if Dream Team is any indication then it's fair to conclude they did so through midfield excellence.
Incredibly, seven of the top 12 midfield assets are Etihad residents.
De Bruyne leads the way with 245 points, 15 more than Riyad Mahrez (£6.8m) who topped the rankings for so long - Raheem Sterling (£4.6m), Phil Foden (£5.9m), Bernardo Silva (£4.3m), Ilkay Gundogan (£4.2m) and Rodri (£4.0m) follow suit.
While remarkable, it makes when you think of how Pep Guardiola's side have operated in recent times.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Without a recognised striker, City's talented front five ahead of Rodri have generally been fluid, sharing the goals and assists around relatively evenly.
This may change next season when Erling Haaland will surely be the focal point but for now let's celebrate City's utter dominance of a whole position in the realm of Dream Team.
