Welcome to the seventh PL INT review. We are past the midseason now and we will take a look at this weeks interesting facts. We hope that you enjoy this weeks review!

vs  Revival need CBs to win against Fusion in dutch derby

In the previous encounter between dutch rivals Revival and Fusion, it's fair to say it was pretty one sided affair. Revival had dominated all game, not allowing a single shot from their opponents all game. One of the reasons why Fusion didn't get a shot in was because they played a very defensive 3-5-2. That all changed in the 2nd game, they changed their formation to a more attacking 4-1-2-1-2 and that definitely helped them stay in possession. Yet it was Revival who took the lead in the 13th minute by a goal from Keukenrolle. Fusion didn't give up though and they started to press high up the pitch in the last few minutes of the first half which got them a goal in the 45th minute. Maxim_SVK scored from the edge of the penalty area to equalise. The second half was very tense. Revival was trying to get the lead but couldn't find the back of the net. Fusion was trying to counter and almost succeeded a few times. The last 5 minutes were very scrappy. Fusion couldn't get the ball out of their box and after a few shots Revival scored from a corner. Thijmo took the corner and Baker headed it down to Yuri who scored in the very last second as cheers erupted from the Revival camp. 

Revival players embrace after their close victory in the dutch derby!

 Unexpected leaders in the MVP category

As we start into the second part of the season we can finally get our 1st proper look at some of the stats. For example who has the most MVPs this season. You’d expect it to be someone from a top 4 team but the top three are actually only mid table teams. If you want to take something from this stat it would show you that some of the teams have players that stand out more than others. Best example is the leader in MVPs, Adamitup from Xzibit. He is at 7 MVPs so far in this season. You wouldn’t expect that when you look at the performance of his team. They are currently in 11th. One way to look at this stat would be that the top teams don’t have one guy that gets the MVP each game, they all have several people that are capable of getting that MVP with an outstanding performance. While bottom teams sometimes rely on that one player having a good day to carry them to a victory. This is just one way to look at it though.

Top 3 as expected at midseason.

All the games of the 1st season have been finished, which means it’s time to compare the current table to our preview. Overall I have to say, I’m kinda proud, I got six out of 14 teams spot on. The first three and the bottom three. The teams that surprised me the most in a positive way are Fusion FC, Ragnarök and Reborn. I expected a mid table finish from all three. Reborn finished the 1st half in fourth while Fusion and Ragnarök finished in fifth and sixth. I was kind of disappointed by two teams, I expected Symphony and Unshackled to finish higher up in the standings. We are still only at half time so some things can still change. The battle for the lead will be very interesting towards the end, same as the battle for the rest of the top half. 

 Fusion brush off pressure in a quick three goal salvo

One of the more interesting games of the gameweek, was the tie between Fusion and the Provocateurs. At the time of the game, the latter were neck and neck with the Dutch outfit, which added extra incentive for both teams to get one over the other in the pursuit of the European spots. Despite an even start, it was Fusion who took a stranglehold on the game, scoring a quick three goal salvo in the space of only seven minutes. As the game went on, Provocateurs got more into the game, but never really recovered. It was Fusion’s day, and this win allowed them to shake off the pressure from the chasing pack, and brought them ever closer to those European spots. 

BeunnHaas sets the three goal salvo into rhythm, smashing the ball home, for his third of the season. 

 Panda rises to the top of the scorers table

The scorer category is the one that every player wants to win. It displays the top marksmen in the league, and rewards them for their consistency and striking ability throughout the whole course of the season. During this GW, it was PandaDahley (Revival) who rose to the top after an impressive four goal haul against Ukraine away from home. This means he has now scored 10 goals in his last 3 games, an effort that has vaulted him onto the number 1 podium, ahead of Reborn’s Griezmann and Venom’s Azz. To add to this emphatic rise, just last GW he was sat outside of the top 10! If he can maintain his rich run of form is another question, however I am sure that he will be doing all he can to take home the golden boot at the end of the season. 

We will release the weekly review every tuesday! We hope that you enjoyed this weeks PL INT review.