BattleVAR Galactico Vs. Route 57 FC

Route to the Final

BattleVAR Galactico

(S9, GW37) League One IML Qualifier Semi-Final: Bye
(S9, GW38) League One IML Qualifier Final: BattleVAR Galatico 46 – 40 East Loop United

(GW11) Quarter-Final, 1st Leg: BattleVAR Galactico 31 – 22 Allison Wonderland
(GW12) Quarter-Final, 2nd Leg: BattleVAR Galactico 29 – 36 Allison Wonderland
BattleVAR Galactico won 60 – 58 on aggregate.

(GW13) Semi-Final, 1st Leg: BattleVAR Galactico 54 – 33 Harambe Hotspur
(GW14) Semi-Final, 2nd Leg: BattleVAR Galactico 41 – 57 Harambe Hotspur
BattleVAR Galactico won 95 – 90 on aggregate

Route 57 FC

(S9, GW37) Premier League IML Qualifier SF: Route 57 FC 70 – 44 We have Kompany
(S9, GW38) Premier League IML Qualifier Final: Route 57 FC 32 – 26 Boss

(GW11) Quarter-Final, 1st Leg: Route 57 FC 27 – 30 Atletico Topo Chico
(GW12) Quarter-Final, 2nd Leg: Route 57 FC 48 – 28 Atletico Topo Chico
Route 57 FC won 75 – 58 on aggregate.

(GW13) Semi-Final, 1st Leg: Route 57 FC 50 – 50 El Dude Bros
(GW14) Semi-Final, 2nd Leg: Route 57 FC 46 – 39 El Dude Bros
Route 57 FC won 96 – 89 on aggregate

The Line-Ups

Pre-Match

Transfers
BattleVAR Galacticos have made no transfers since the Semi-Finals.
Route 57 made 9 transfers since their Semi-Final victory:
GK: Foderingham → Dubravka (GW15)
DEF: Konsa & Aina → Robinson and Livramento (GW15)
DEF: Robinson & Livramento → Aguerd & Dunk (GW16)
MID: Douglas Luiz → Mac Allister (GW15)
MID: Soucek, Lo Celso & Mac Allister → Grealish, McTominay and Garnacho (GW16)

The Teams
BattleVAR Galactico made no changes after their midweek 2-point loss in League Two. Their top scorer was Hwang Hee-chan with his 10 points against Burnley. This week he looks set to start against Nottingham Forest. Their goalkeepers are handcuffed at Arsenal; whichever ‘keeper gets the nod will start against Aston Villa who took that shock 1-0 victory away from Man City last time out.

There were no points and no minutes played by their subs a few days ago, but in the gameweek before that, Zeki Amdouni was stuck on the bench whilst offering 11FPts. Subsequently he was brought into the first XI and starts again this weekend.

Callum Wilson is BattleVAR’s only injury concern, and he is also the only player shared by both finalists.

Route 57 FC have been tinkering in preparation for the Final. Robinson (Fulham) and Livramento (Newcastle) were let go before their games against West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur. In their place, Dunk and Aguerd have been hired in hopes of picking up a couple of clean sheets. Ward-Prowse and Saka keep their places in the team after successful appearances midweek; Garnacho and McTominay are brought in after big goals recently and Jack Grealish is given a opportunity to impress after being rested against Villa on Wednesday.

First Half

The weekend arrived very quickly after the midweek gameweek and was conveniently split across two days. The Final kicked off with Guehi standing up to Liverpool’s formidable front line that had scored ten in the previous three games. Things were going well for BattleVAR for the first 75 minutes, but eventually they succumbed to Mo Salah, who scored and assisted in the final fifteen. Marc trudged back down the tunnel with only a single point.

The 3pm’s failed to bring much else to the title match. For Route 57, they lost two defensive clean sheets in quick succession right at the end of the first half, conceding to Odobert (45′) and McAtee (45+1′). Their two new United signings – McTominay and Garnacho – only had a single shot on goal between them and sufficed to say, it came to nothing. Similarly, Neal Maupay only had a single effort on goal, which was blocked and he hasn’t been heard from since.

BattleVAR’s mid-afternoon was just as uninspiring. Hwang, who impressed last week, failed to repeat either of his extra attributes. His only attempt was a header inside the 6-yard box that he unfortunately put wide. Two opposing strikers at the Amex Stadium were hoping for a high-scoring game too, but they had no influence over either goal and so they also returned with just a two each.

The evening brought fresh promise for both sides. Each team had two Arsenal players competing for the points, the glory and the adoration of their managers. However, once again, the opposition were too much and all four players slunk back to the dressing room with a lowly two points.

Half-Time Score: BattleVAR Galactico 11 – 14 Route 57 FC
Players remaining – BVAR: 5, R57: 4

Second Half

The second half kicked off at 2pm on Sunday with three games being played at Goodison Park, Craven Cottage and Kenilworth Road.

It took 22 minutes for Route 57 to lose another clean sheet and then in first half injury time, Ederson and Ake both lost theirs to Adebayo’s backpost header. Meanwhile, Everton were holding firm against Chelsea and Tarkowski was guiding the Galacticos to a first BFFA title.

Over at Craven Cottage, West Ham were receiving a hiding. Soucek and Ward-Prowse were being shut out of the game and Aguerd was watching his fantasy points reduced with every second goal. Then, with half an hour left, something happened that made the Final come alive. Man City were fighting back from one-down. They had equalized through Bernardo Silva and then three minutes later, Julian Alvarez managed to get a ball across to Jack Grealish, himself arriving at the back post, and he slotted past Kaminski and City got the win. Grealish’s goal earned him three bonus points and gave Route 57 a six-point lead.

Only one player remained – Anthony Gordon, playing for the battling BattleVAR. He had surpassed 6 FPts on six occasions before, but this week was not going to be one of those weeks. The opposition were, once again, too dominating and Johnny Drama was unable to muster anything more than a two. Despite Tarkowski’s clean sheet, Grealish’s goal decided the match and Route 57 get the IML Trophy at the second attempt.

Full-Time Score: BattleVAR Galactico 24 – 28 Route 57 FC

Final Score and Stats

	BattleVAR Galactico	Route 57 FC
Score	24	28
Goals	0	1
Assists	0	0
Yellow Cards	0	0
Red Cards	0	0
GK/DEF Clean Sheets	1	0
GK Saves	2	1
Minutes Played	898	972
Bonus Points	0	3
Total Team Rating (BPS)	104	144
Substitutions Made	0	0