Matchweek 7 of the ISL has thrown up plenty of intriguing results – ones that have opened up the league table completely, and ones that have shown certain teams just how much catching up they have to do.
You can find the basic details and stats from each game here, but here is the seventh edition of our ISL musings this season.
ISL Standings | ISL Results and Fixtures
Goa finally have the result to match the performance
On almost every attacking metric, FC Goa have spent the whole season so far near the top of the table. However, the most important metric had them in the bottom half – the league table. This week, they took their first step towards correcting that – handing out a first loss of the season to Bengaluru FC, in a performance that sent a statement to the rest of the league.
They were rather fortunately handed a goal by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, but they got the luck their attacking play deserved. Dejan Drazic pulled the strings brilliantly, Brison Fernandes was bright on the flanks, but Manolo Marquez’s gamble in putting Ayush Dev Chhetri in the final third paid off handsomely.
The youngster was instrumental in the Goa press, ensuring that Pedro Capo and Alberto Noguera just had no freedom in midfield to pull strings and dictate terms.
Sandesh Jhingan’s back too, and that is sure to make Goa sturdier at the back. This 3-0 win has taken them up to 7th in the table, and they will hope it is the first of many upward jumps that they take this season.
Are Punjab FC really contenders to win the shield?
On the evidence of what we’ve seen so far, nobody can really argue against Punjab. They’ve got a steel to them on the best of days, and on slightly poorer days when they do concede goals, they’ve now shown they have the attacking prowess to score them too. Most importantly, they’ve shown character once again, as they came back from a goal down to beat Chennaiyin FC 3-2.
Luka Majcen’s return from injury came with two goals in the space of a minute that pegged Chennaiyin back. Asmir Suljic got himself on the scoresheet too, while Mushaga Bakenga also made a decisive contribution with the assist for the Hungarian’s goal. That win has put Punjab just four points behind leaders Bengaluru, and they have two games in hand too.
Can they write one of Indian football’s most famous stories this season? They certainly seem capable at the moment.
The Khalid Jamil wall crumbles without Stephen Eze
We’ve waxed lyrical in previous columns about Khalid Jamil and the solidity that his coaching brings to a side. Well, that has been well and truly broken. Jamshedpur have now conceded 10 goals in their last two games.
Stephen Eze’s sending off at NorthEast United last week saw Jamshedpur crumble with ten men. This week, without Eze, they barely put up a fight with 11. Lazar Cirkovic’s injury meant Jamil was forced into playing an all-Indian back four, which couldn’t handle the speed and intelligence of Chennaiyin FC’s movement, throughout the game.
AN IRFAN-TASTIC SHOWING! ��#JFCCFC #ISL #LetsFootball #ISLonJioCinema #ISLonSports18 #ChennaiyinFC #IrfanYadwad #ISLPOTM | @ChennaiyinFC @JioCinema @Sports18 pic.twitter.com/sPJ6Nsr2LQ
– Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) November 4, 2024
Irfan Yadwad, in particular, had a stunning game, with a goal and two assists – potentially a performance that catapults him into the national team.
As for Jamil and Jamshedpur, Eze’s return should help. He’s a superb defender with incredible characteristics, who could also mitigate for some curious managerial decisions, such as starting with a midfield two of Javi Hernandez and Rei Tachikawa – both primarily attacking midfielders.
Kwame Peprah’s range goes from spectacular to daft
55th minute: Concedes a soft penalty. His team go 0-2 down.
57th minute: Wins a soft penalty. It’s converted. 1-2.
71st minute: A superb header to equalize. And then, already on a yellow card, lifts his shirt to reveal a message underneath. Gets a second yellow card to be sent off.
Frustration, joy, and everything in between for #KwamePeprah! ��#MCFCKBFC #ISL #LetsFootball #KeralaBlasters | @KeralaBlasters @JioCinema @Sports18 pic.twitter.com/WqvgVRdOZg
– Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) November 3, 2024
Kerala Blasters striker Kwame Peprah had some evening at the Mumbai Football Arena. Eventually, his goal to equalize with less than 20 minutes to go had little bearing on the game, as the subsequent red card meant Mumbai City took full advantage of playing with an extra man, and won 4-2.
It was quite a sight to see Peprah go through a whole range of celebrations with his teammates while his captain Adrian Luna stood by the referee pleading the Ghanaian’s case. In the end, the rulebook was followed, as it should be. Peprah made the slow walk back to the dressing room. He might not have even entered the tunnel by the time Nathan Rodrigues put Mumbai City back in front.
It wasn’t the brightest of moments from Peprah, but the Blasters have problems bigger than momentary lapses of judgement. They’re conceding an average of two goals a game. It’s the sort of defensive record befitting a team in 10th place. Mikael Stahre needs to find a solution to that. And the first step is to not believe their defence is solid, as he said after losing 4-2 to Mumbai City.
NorthEast beat Odisha in clash of contrasts
When NorthEast United get the ball in their own half, it only takes them three or four passes before getting one of their players – very often Alaeddine Ajaraie – in a shooting position. That is in stark contrast to Odisha, who prefer the slow passing build-up through midfield. In the absence of the suspended Ahmed Jahouh, Odisha lacked real quality to build anything significant for a large part of the game.
Ajaraie, at the moment, seems like he can shoot from anywhere and score. Jithin MS, Parthib Gogoi and Nestor Albiach are just perfect foils for him. Juan Pedro Benali has created a system where the function of the attacking players is to make runs and passes such that Ajaraie is in shooting range with space to unleash with that right foot. He’s got eight goals in seven games, so that is working. NorthEast have now won two in a row, so the team is clicking too.
As for Odisha, they smell a bit of a team filled with players on the wrong side of 30. The energy you typically associate with a Sergio Lobera team has gone completely missing this season. Roy Krishna, Diego Mauricio and Hugo Boumous all possess immense quality, and that has shone through on occasion. But for the first time since Lobera first stepped onto Indian shores in 2017, his team seems neither solid nor entertaining. Odisha are stuck in a rut for sure.
Bengaluru and Zaragoza face their first big challenge of the season
At the start of the season, one always felt Bengaluru FC’s big challenge could come when they had to dig into their strength in depth due to injuries or suspensions putting their balance off. That moment has come. Nikhil Poojary’s hamstring injury meant that Sana Singh stepped in at right-back, and not very well. There’s hardly any blame to be attached to Sana, having found himself away from his natural position.
Bengaluru just felt like an unbalanced side without Poojary, and their next test is stiff too, as NorthEast come calling to the Kanteerava. Zaragoza faces a challenge to find that defensive balance back again, against the most entertaining attacking unit in the league. Zaragoza’s first task though, would probably be to tell his goalkeeper that he doesn’t have a couple of hours to make a clearance.
