The Premier League season has started, so competitive set-piece evidence now outranks pre-season assumptions.
The strongest new Gameweek 1 clue is Liverpool: Dominik Szoboszlai took and scored a 99th-minute penalty at Newcastle while Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo were involved in the match. He also took a late direct free-kick and corner.
Manchester City supplied another useful pattern: Elliot Anderson took an earlier corner that created a big Marc Guéhi chance, while substitute Rayan Cherki later assisted Guéhi from a corner.
The short answer
| Club | Player(s) | Competitive evidence | Current FPL interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Dominik Szoboszlai | Took and scored GW1 penalty; also direct FK + corner | Leading penalty/set-piece option — high confidence |
| Man City | Elliot Anderson / Rayan Cherki | Both took corners; Cherki assisted Guéhi from one | Corner share depends on personnel |
| Hull | Regan Slater | Dead-ball delivery created Mendy goal | Set-piece involvement confirmed |
| Everton | Iliman Ndiaye | Pre-season penalty evidence remains strongest current clue | Monitor first competitive penalty |
| Brighton | Pascal Groß | Pre-season penalty + corner/FK evidence | Remains leading set-piece reference |
| Man Utd | Bruno Fernandes | No competitive penalty in GW1 | Still leading candidate; no new taker evidence |
Liverpool: Szoboszlai now has the strongest possible penalty clue
Liverpool won a penalty after Lewis Hall fouled Víctor Muñoz late in stoppage time at Newcastle.
Szoboszlai took responsibility and converted in the 99th minute.
This matters because Isak and Gakpo were not absent from the attacking picture, so the kick was not simply handed to a fringe player because likely takers were unavailable.
Szoboszlai also:
- took a late direct free-kick
- took a corner in stoppage time
- remained on the pitch for the full match
At £7.0m, penalties add another route to an already strong FPL profile.
Current call: Liverpool penalties — Szoboszlai, HIGH confidence after GW1.
Man City: Anderson and Cherki both took corners
City supplied a more nuanced set-piece clue.
Elliot Anderson delivered the corner from which Guéhi had a free headed chance early in the second half.
After Cherki entered, he took the corner that Guéhi headed in for City's equaliser.
The correct interpretation is not that Cherki has suddenly won all corners.
It is that City showed a competitive split that can change depending on who is on the pitch.
For FPL:
- Anderson retains a set-piece route when he starts.
- Cherki's corners improve his upside when he is playing.
- Neither should be labelled a monopoly taker from one match.
Hull: dead-ball threat already delivered
Hull scored both goals against Manchester United from dead-ball situations.
Regan Slater's free-kick supplied the delivery for Nobel Mendy's headed goal, strengthening Hull's cheap-defender set-piece route.
This is useful because £4.0m defenders do not need frequent attacking returns; even occasional dead-ball involvement can separate them from other minimum-price options.
Brighton: Groß remains the reference
Brighton's 4-0 win over Aston Villa did not produce a penalty change.
Pascal Groß therefore retains the strongest available evidence for Brighton penalties, corners and free-kicks until a competitive event contradicts it.
Do not give new striker Promise David penalties simply because of historical duties elsewhere.
Manchester United: no reason to invent a change
United's GW1 defeat did not include a competitive penalty that changed the hierarchy.
Bruno Fernandes remains the leading player to monitor.
Pre-season misses reduced certainty, but a lack of new evidence is not evidence that somebody else has taken the role.
How OneFPL should update this page from now on
Competitive evidence should be logged using five questions:
- Who actually took the penalty?
- Which other likely takers were on the pitch?
- Who took corners from each side?
- Who took direct and indirect free-kicks?
- Was the event a one-off or repeated in later matches?
That prevents FPL managers from overreacting to a single pre-season kick or a corner taken only because the usual player was absent.
OneFPL verdict
Biggest GW1 change: Szoboszlai up.
Liverpool's £7.0m midfielder now has direct competitive evidence for penalties as well as corners and direct free-kicks.
City: record a split, not a monopoly. Anderson and Cherki both took corners, with Cherki creating the equaliser.
Keep using OneFPL Team News, Player Lab and Fixtures alongside this page.
FAQ
Who takes Liverpool penalties?
After GW1, Dominik Szoboszlai has the strongest competitive evidence. He took and scored Liverpool's late penalty at Newcastle.
Does Rayan Cherki take Man City corners?
He took a corner after coming on and assisted Guéhi. Elliot Anderson had taken an earlier corner, so City currently show a shared/personnel-dependent picture.
Has Pascal Groß lost Brighton penalties?
There was no GW1 evidence of a change. Groß remains the leading Brighton reference until a competitive penalty says otherwise.
Sources
OneFPL analysis. OneFPL is an independent Fantasy Premier League companion and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Premier League or Fantasy Premier League.
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