We're down to the business end of the season, with just a month left for the league stage of the Indian Super League to conclude. We've had late goals in five of the seven games last week and nine teams are still in the hunt for the four playoff places -- clearly the ISL is ramping up the excitement stakes. Here's what we learned from the last week.
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The Blasters fairy-tale might just happen
The sight of Adrian Luna leaping around in barely contained joy after Jorge Pereyra Diaz's opening goal in the 2-1 win over NorthEast United is a perfect representation of the average Kerala Blasters fan. After seven seasons of pain, with Kerala finishing runners-up twice and looking... uninspiring (to put it politely) the rest of the time, the Manjappada might finally have some well-deserved happiness headed their way.
Their foreign contingent has never looked better, and even after going down to ten men, Kerala displayed the calm of champions seeing out a 2-1 win with ease. Alvaro Vazquez added to his tally of incredible goals with a stunning effort 59m from goal, which strangely enough, wasn't even his most audacious effort of the night.
Ivan Vukomanovic's side are three points from the top with a game in hand. However a tiny fly in the ointment is that Kerala are still not creating great chances (xG is second-worst in the league). Although when you have strikers who can score from 59 meters out, should we really care about xG?
Mumbai end their winless run
Mumbai City's painful run of seven games without a win finally came to an end with a 1-0 win over Chennaiyin, which coincidentally was also the scoreline against the same team when they last won, back in mid-December. It was a much-needed win for Des Buckingham who watched as his side lost confidence with every winless game.
The lack of confidence was evident for all to see in their 1-1 draw against ATK Mohun Bagan. Ahmed Jahouh, of all people, was robbed in possession for their first goal, with even Mourtada Fall looking jittery in defence. Going forward, Mumbai still created chances, but if ever there was a metric to define how poorly Mumbai were shooting, it is xGoT (Expected Goals on Target). The defending champions only managed an xGoT of 0.16 from an xG of 1.04 against ATKMB, a clear sign they're unsure of what to do when presented with a chance.
There were no such nerves for Vikram Pratap Singh against Chennaiyin though, as he instinctually slid home from close range to give Mumbai a priceless win that keeps them in playoff and title contention.
Bengaluru rely on an old friend to continue their redemption arc
Ever since their inception in 2013, Bengaluru FC have always been a team that's been lethal from set-pieces. Even in their glory years under Ashley Westwood, Albert Roca, and Carles Cuadrat, BFC married good football with clever set-piece work. Marco Pezzaiuoli seems to have no qualms about relying on this avenue of goal-scoring, and it came to the fore in their 3-1 win over Jamshedpur.
BFC's equaliser and Cleiton Silva's second goal came from throw-ins, while BFC remain the highest-scoring team in the league from corners with Silva's first coming from a corner too. Bengaluru have the league's second best xG (22) but their xG from set-plays (including penalties) contribute to 11.3 of that total of 22. There won't be a BFC fan who will care, I assume, as after a very poor start to the season, the club have risen to second in the table, albeit having played a game more than those around them. A playoff spot remains on offer and we can be positive Pezzaiuoli is brushing up on his corner routines.
Chennaiyin's blunt swords
Chennaiyin FC have one win from their last six games - and even that was a fortunate 2-1 win over bottom-rung NEUFC. Bozidar Bandovic's football is, quite frankly, a terrible watch, but at his previous clubs, it usually resulted in victories and titles. Only CFC can finish a game with a 2-2 scoreline, like they did against SC East Bengal, with one shot on target.
Mirlan Murzaev is one of the league's best creative midfielders, but Bandovic bafflingly opted to bench him in both of Chennaiyin's games this week. Mumbai never looked threatened in their 1-0 win, which is a huge indictment of CFC's attack that faced a defence that conceded 15 goals in their last seven games. Losing Lallianzuala Chhangte has further blunted an attack which is as piercing as a cudgel.
Chennaiyin are fast losing their chance at a playoff run, and it's anyone's guess as to how they can arrest it without their attack coming good.
Nothing different for Odisha and Goa
It's telling that despite Odisha playing 180 minutes this week, we learned little about them. They were comfortably second best against FC Goa, but managed a 1-1 draw and were the better side in a 2-1 win over SC East Bengal that didn't throw up new narratives.
Derrick Pereira's FC Goa still remain as possessive of the ball as ever, but despite out-passing Odisha 2:1 (383 vs 166 accurate passes) did little with it. Goa took 24 shots on goal but only managed an xG of 1.26 in open play - underlined by how often Edu Bedia unleashed a speculative shot from range. The quality of chances Goa create is poor, which is baffling given how technically sound the whole side is. Goa need inspiration and a sprinkling of chaos from somewhere, but it might be a little too late.
ATKMB have come far under Ferrando
Juan Ferrando has only been in the ATK Mohun Bagan hot-seat for five games, but the Spaniard has already overseen a huge improvement. With a Covid outbreak and game postponements disrupting his start, Ferrando deserves huge plaudits for his impact in such a short time. It was none more so apparent than against Mumbai City FC.
"We are at a difficult moment with injuries, and it's important to support the players who are giving their best"
Gaffer Juan Ferrando spoke after the draw against Mumbai City FC about the side's approach henceforth.#ATKMohunBagan #JoyMohunBagan #AmraSobujMaroon #HeroISL pic.twitter.com/cZqQmnjwDq
- ATK Mohun Bagan FC (@atkmohunbaganfc) February 4, 2022
The reverse fixture earlier in the season had ATK Mohun Bagan's backline run ragged, with no answer to Mumbai City's piercing runs down either wings. There was nothing of the sort in the 1-1 draw this time, with ATKMB's defence reducing Mumbai to speculative pot-shots from range. Even the own-goal they conceded came from the most improbable of headers finding the net. David Williams is a perfect striker for Ferrando's system, his high-energy style perfect for a side that likes to press when not in possession. Roy Krishna is now out of favour, crazy as it sounds, which makes it all the more interesting how ATKMB progress under Ferrando.
Despite being seventh in the table, the Kolkata giants are six points off the top, with two games in hand - one cannot rule out a run for the title. A trophy after sacking the league's most successful manager midway through the season? Welcome to football, Kolkata style.