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What's the story?
Chelsea striker Michy Batshayi had long been haggling with EA Sports to increase his player rating. EA responded by saying that if he kept scoring goals 'then they'll talk'. The Belgian wasted no time and banged in three goals to help Chelsea register a 5-1 win over Nottingham Forest last night. He promptly took to Twitter to brag about his prowess, tagging EA in the process.
In case you didn't know...
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This was the tweet that started everything off.
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EA's response was
The heart of the matter
Not to be outdone by EA's tweet a week ago, Batshuayi shot back yesterday.
Finally, EA thundered in a goal with this zinger
Having the last word, Batshuayi conceded defeat
Batshuayi's display against Nottingham Forest took his 2017-18 tally to four goals. With Chelsea staying on the front foot, we can be sure that Batshuayi will continue adding to his goal tally.
During the match, Kenedy opened Chelsea's account in the 13th minute and then Batshuayi got in on the action to fill it with a second goal, youngster Charly Musonda added a third five minutes before halftime. Batshuayi completed his hat-trick soon afterward to take the score to 5-0. Forest fired back a consolation goal in injury time, but the rout was complete.
What's next?
Without a doubt, the 99 card for Batshuayi is well-directed dig and just EA's way of getting their own back. But joking aside, his performance has improved and this will surely give EA an impetus to possibly increase his rating further by the time FIFA 19 hits the shelves.
Author's take
It is understandable that Batshuayi feels that he deserved better than an 80 rating. He isn't the only one who is displeased, Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy too questioned EA's distribution of ratings. However, it is nice to see that Batshuayi and Mendy prefer to see the funny side to the affair and entertain their fans with their banter, with EA joining in on the fun. There are eight days left until FIFA 18 is released so have you been saving up for the game?
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