THERE was a sense Bryan Mbeumo (£3.4m) was on his last life in the world of Dream Team prior to Gameweek 9.
Brentford's No19 was a relatively popular man before the season got underway and his ownership more than doubled after he provided 24 points from his first two outings.
However, his returns dropped off a cliff after the first international break when he mustered just 15 points from five games between Gameweeks 5 and 8.
A favourable match-up in the form of Burnley at home represented a visit to the Last Chance Saloon on Saturday - failure to produce healthy returns would have likely reduced his ownership to a season-low.
But Mbeumo delivered a 15-point haul for his patient owners and re-entered the top ten midfielders in doing so.
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The Cameroon international provided the assist for Yoane Wissa's (£2.3m) opener against the Clarets and then doubled his side's lead with a goal of his own in the second half, a fantastic finish at that.
Thomas Frank's men needed a comfortable win and they got just that in the form of a 3-0 victory in West London - Mbeumo registered four shots on target throughout the contest.
Douglas Luiz (£3.1m) and Chris Wood (£1.6m) are the only players to have earned more points than Mbeumo in Gameweek 9 so far - the former pair bagged a brace each for their respective clubs at the weekend.
Having lost plenty of ground in recent weeks, the 24-year-old is suddenly level with Phil Foden (£4.7m) on 67 points.
In fact, only five midfielders - James Maddison (£4.3m), Martin Odegaard (£5.1m), James Ward-Prowse (£4.3m), Jarrod Bowen (£4.8m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.4m) - are above Mbeumo in the rankings after the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
The question now is whether he can maintain momentum going forward.
With all due respect to Vincent Kompany's side, they are cannon fodder in the realm of Dream Team right now having conceded 23 goals in nine league games since promotion.
Brenford face considerably tougher tests in the coming weeks; their next four opponents are Chelsea, West Ham, Liverpool and Arsenal.
It may the case that Mbeumo owners, having benefited from his exhibition against Burnley, are better off finding a replacement in the near future with a view to bringing him back in when his fixtures flip.
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