Fantasy Premier League returned with a bang last weekend and served up a firm reminder of the power of ‘DEFCON’ (or defensive contributions) as this scoring system begins its second season in the game.Any managers who are stuck in their old ways really should take note of this recent metric in order to keep pace with their rivals.So, what did we learn regarding the new guard of defensive contribution contenders in the opening gameweek of the season?MidfieldersBrentford newcomer Mamadou Sangare (£5.6m) was one of four players scoring defensive contribution points who made the Gameweek One team of the week.He had long been tipped a sound FPL contender since his arrival from Lens in the summer transfer window for a club-record £41.1million.The Malian midfielder averaged 14.2 defensive contributions per 90 last season in Ligue 1 and was wisely tipped as the new Elliot Anderson for FPL this season. Even Brentford themselves tipped their new midfielder to be a “DEFCON” monster.
DEFCON points are coming 📈 pic.twitter.com/oZac9Lppl7
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) August 21, 2026His 12 defensive contribution actions in Gameweek One ranked him sixth among all midfielders and crucially, they came in a 75-minute performance.Many had him down as a DEFCON midfielder with little else to offer, but Sangare has shown that he can play box-to-box, notching two assists in Saturday’s 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, highlighting his multiple routes to points.I expect him to disrupt Dango Ouattara (£6.5m) and Kevin Schade (£6.0m) to become the best Brentford midfielder to own this season, with Ouattara producing two shots and two key passes in that Spurs win.Schade had a leading tally of five shots in the box in this fixture and was unlucky to come away without a goal involvement, having won the penalty that Igor Thiago (£8.0m) failed to convert.Sangare began as a big differential in the game, in just 3.3 per cent of sides but has now experienced one of first price rises of the campaign, with nearly 300,000 new owners for Gameweek Two at the time of writing.
