The Indian Super League heads to the business end of the season with plenty happening at either end of the table, as East Bengal FC took the lead atop the table, with plenty of teams in hot pursuit.
We muse, on an eventful games 69-74 of the ISL.
Scheduling mess leaves little confidence in AIFF’s abilities
Two entire matchweeks (and more) have passed with Mohun Bagan not playing a single game. The club last played a game on the 19th April, and will next take to the pitch on 9th May – a rest period of 20 days.
Leaving aside the mess that is the last matchday still not being scheduled (more on that, here), it calls into question the fairness of the fixture list. Bagan have essentially had a three-week break going into the run-in, with four fixtures that could decide where the league title ends up and they will be considerably fresher than their opponents.
Presently, the table has a strange look about it, with East Bengal top with 21 points from 10 games, Jamshedpur in second with 21 points from 11 games and Bagan third with 20 points from nine games. Manolo Marquez minced no words at the scheduling, calling it a ‘disaster’, and he has a point.
Amidst all this, the AIFF and the ISL clubs have been in discussions regarding the future of the league, with Genius Sports being presented as the commercial partner. A key rider that the federation has always maintained is that they own and operate the league – which on its own is a fair demand. Given the entirely avoidable mess they have created, however, it does beg the question whether the AIFF are indeed competent enough to do so.
Jamshedpur make a habit of late goals to keep title hopes alive
If goals in the last 15 minutes of games did not count, Jamshedpur FC would have nine points fewer – which would have left them dawdling in the bottom half of the table (12 points from 11 games). Instead, their ability to score a late goal has kept them in the title race. Owen Coyle’s side truly do not know when they are beaten, and have turned draws into wins and losses into draws multiple times this season. It was the same in a potentially title-defining clash against FC Goa, as Manolo Marquez’s side looked to be walking away with a draw, until two late goals (including a cheeky backheel from Mohammed Sanan) gave Jamshedpur the victory. The club only have two games left this season – against Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC. Coyle would naturally prefer comfortable victories, but even as the clock ticks down, he’ll be safe in the knowledge that his team will always go for all three points. Stuff of champions, one could even say. One of the anticipated silver linings of the truncated ISL season as it began was clubs letting go of their star foreign players – all of which pointed to Indian attackers getting much more of a look in than in previous seasons. However, as we reach the business end of the season, that scenario hasn’t resulted in a standout Indian attacker so far. Even bargain-bin foreign signings have performed better than India‘s best and that ought to concern Khalid Jamil no end. There have been flashes in the pan, but barring Lallianzuala Chhangte, no Indian attacker has had a sustained run of goalscoring form. Only Rahim Ali (5) and Joseph Sunny (5) are there in the top 10 goal involvements in the league, but even those numbers have come from a massive xG overperformance – Rahim Ali’s xG + xA totals are 2.8, while Sunny has 5 goals involvements from 2.2 xG + xA. Chhangte has the best total of an Indian (5.20) which have resulted in four goals – the top-scoring Indian in the league so far. Panagiotis Dilmperis looked ever so despondent after his side drew 0-0 against SC Delhi, as the draw seemingly looked to have ended their title hopes. However, the 1-0 win against Chennaiyin FC took them to 18 points from 10 games, three behind leaders East Bengal, whom they face in the next game. Punjab have usually fielded an all-Indian backline of Muhammed Uvais, Bijoy Verghese, Pramveer and Khaiminthang Lhungdim, with the likes of Suresh Meitei and Leon Augustine occasionally filling in – Pablo the lone foreign defender usually brought on late in games. Incredibly, despite playing a game more, Punjab’s defence have conceded a full xG less than Mohun Bagan – a measly 5.5 xG conceded from 10 games. It’s not just the backline, Punjab’s high press has been superb and they lead the league in winning the ball back in the final third of the pitch. Can they defend their way to the title? Maybe not, but nonetheless, Dilmperis has fashioned the foundation for something to build on – one only hopes he’s afforded the opportunity and backed in the market next season. Prior to the game against Mumbai City, Oscar Bruzon announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, taking pains to point out that it wasn’t about results or a dispute, but simply the uncertainty surrounding the club’s plans in the future. It’s a pity because the team he’s built looks to be genuinely capable of stopping the juggernaut that is Mohun Bagan, but the Spaniard will not be afforded the chance to build on this potentially title-winning season. One can’t fault the club here either – with the league’s future still up in the air commercial commitments cannot be made, and Bruzon is well within his rights to not leave his personal financial future to chance as well. On the pitch, East Bengal pulled off a superb comeback to defeat Mumbai City 2-1 and take charge of the title race. It is in their hands – win their next three games, and they will be champions. There is the small matter that two of those games are against Punjab and Bagan, but for a team that boasts of the best xG generated by far (20.7, Bagan are second with 12.6), and boast of the league’s top scorer in Youssef Ezzejjari, they ought to fancy their chances. NorthEast United FC and Inter Kashi played out a thrilling game which had it all – red cards, penalties, hilarious defending, stunning goals, last-minute winners. It was the ISL at its chaotic best, and plenty of credit ought to go to the managers on the touchline – Juan Pedro Benali and Antonio Habas going at it hammer and tongs for a game of little consequence. The two teams are mostly safe from relegation and have no hopes of the title, but played a full-tilt game nonetheless. It wasn’t the case in Odisha’s draw against Bengaluru FC, with the visitors dominating the ball, but not managing to do much with it. Pep Munoz better make this extended pre-season count next year, because the narrative that Renedy Singh was very hard done by gets harder to argue against with every passing game that BFC look ordinary.Goals of Indian attackers haven’t materialized
Punjab’s defence deserves more credit
East Bengal could give Oscar Bruzon the perfect goodbye
What else happened?
