ISL 2024-25: A look at the season in numbers

The 2024-25 Indian Super League has come to a close. The champions crowned and all laurels awarded.

With the Super Cup, the final premier football tournament in India of this season set to kick-off on Sunday, The Bridge take a look at some statistical trends and facts from the concluded ISL.

Offensive Metrics - Team (As of the end of league phase)

Most Expected Goals

Expected Goals are a computationally derived underlying metric used to determine the value of a shot on its probabilities of resulting in a goal. Expected goals can be calculated for and against. They are denoted by 'xG' and xGA' for Expected Goals Against.

Northeast Utd led the league on this one, and was it ever in doubt, With Alaaeddine Ajaraie blazing through the rest of the competition; Northeast's attack constantly punctured opponent defenses. NEU amassed almost 40 xG worth of chances in their 24 games.

Highest Conversion rate

Dread from it, run from it, but they are there. The most efficient side in the competition bar none. The Champions themselves - Mohun Bagan SG.

Ignoring own-goals, at the end of the league phase; both MB and NE had scored 44 goals each. But, MB only needed 28 less shots than NE to reach the tally. MB posted a conversion rate of 12%; edging NE by 1 percent.

Biggest Overperformer of xG

As expected Mohun Bagan appears once again, and not for the last time. But accompanying them is FC Goa. Both sides managed to add a +10 onto their expected goals tally; which is the highest by the end of the league phase.

Biggest underperformer of xG

At the opposite end of the spectrum, in pretty much a no-brainer category comes Mohammedan SC. A dismal campaign in front of goal with just 12 goals from 24 expected. They also had the least conversion rate, by a distance (3%), scoring just 12 times from 309 shots.

Team with Bggest Indian goal scoring share

In a season to forget for East Bengal, their domestic lads stepped up. 60% of East Bengal’s goals (14/24) was scored by Indian players with David Lalhlansanga and PV Vishnu scoring 4 each.

Mohammedan SC came next at 50% (6/12). Bengaluru FC at third on 47% (18/38) with 12 of them coming from Sunil Chettri.

Kerala Blasters and Punjab were the sides with least share of domestic goal scorers, both at 15% and 5 goals each scored by Indians.

Offensive Metrics - Player (end of league phase, non-penalty shots only, must have at least 25 shots)

Most Expected Goals

Any guesses? Isn't it obvious? Should it even be said.

In a year where almost all scoring records were re-written; who else would lead the offensive player metrics other than the golden boot & golden ball winner Alaaeddine Ajaraie.

Accumulating around 14 expected goals through the league phase, Ajaraie stayed at the top for a good while, and by a distance.

Among domestic players, Sunil Chettri and Liston Colaco lead the charts accumulating around 5.5 non-penalty expected goals.

Highest Conversion rate (must have at least 25 shots)

It was said when he was rumored. It was expected when he signed. As he started playing, he delivered. Jamie Maclaren.

All time A-League top-scorer, now champion of India and likely the most efficient striker in all the land.

Converting at 24%, Maca scored 10 goals from 41 shots. In terms of conversion rate he edged out Jesus Jimenez of Kerala Blasters who scored 9 from 40.

Among domestic players, Brison led the pack at 22%.

Biggest overperformer of xG

Alaaeddine Ajaraie tops the charts yet again. Scoring almost 7 goals more than what was expected, it’s no wonder he rocked the league.

Brison Fernandes follows in at second, with a +4 to his expected tally. Breakout season might just be the one that make him a mainstay.

Biggest underperformer of xG

Not the way an ISL Hero like Cleiton would’ve liked to step-down, but it has been that. Now no longer at East Bengal, Silva’s dismal campaign in front of goal cost his side at least another 2 goals.

Most shots without a goal

This category would have been tight, had Mohammedan SC not been a part of it. The side with the lowest conversion rate had to have at least one with a number of shots and no goals; but Alexis Gomez really went for the overkill.

73 shots in all - 4th most non-penalty shots in the league and no goals to show for it.

Defensive Metrics - Team (end of league phase)

Most Expected Goals Against

Hyderabad’s leaky defence conceded the most quality chances in the league, conceding 40 expected goals against. Jamshedpur came in second by a whisker, conceding 39.5 expected goals against.

Least Expected Goals Against

They had the best attack. They had the best defence. They are the champions. Who else but Mohun Bagan.

Molina’s defence conceded just 19 expected goals all through the 24 league phase games!

Biggest Overperformer on xGA

When you’re so gritty that you concede the least chances, luck tends to favor the brave. The luck was earned, and once again MBSG benefitted.

They conceded just 16 times in the league, marking an overperformance of 3 goals less conceded. Although a good share of credit for that should go to someone else, set to be mentioned later...

Biggest Underperformer on xGA

Punjab’s defence had its flaws, but it never helped itself. Constant mistakes led to more chances conceded and by the end they conceded almost 11 goals more than they were expected to.

Goalkeeper metrics (end of league phase):

Goals prevented

Golden glove winner for a reason. Vishal Kaith remained the keeper who saved his team from certain goals the most. By all other underlying metrics, Mohun Bagan Super Giant should have conceded at least another 2 goals, but Vishal stood firm.

It also must be mentioned that only two keepers in the entire league proved to be some sort of positive for their teams in terms of goals prevented.

While Vishal stays comfortably at the top, the only other positive return came from Hrithik Tiwari who posted a minor net-positive return in his debut season.

Keepers save sides when defence falters. Vishal was at the top in that regard, and surprisingly Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (BFC) , Phurba Lachenpa (MCFC) & Ravi Kumar (PFC) were at the other end.

All three of them posted around -8 in terms of goals prevented; that is their sides conceded at least 8 more goals due to the saves the keepers were expected to, but did not make.