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ISL 2019 Week 4 & 5 Round-up: Bengaluru FC return to form as league table starts shaping up

ISL 2019 Week 4 & 5 Round-up: Bengaluru FC return to form as league table starts shaping up
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By

Abhranil Roy

Published: 7 Dec 2019 2:56 PM GMT

Ever since the international break ended, the Indian Super League (ISL) has been on a roll and there have been big results and disappointing ones for almost all football teams. The big guns have slowly started to show their form and start peaking but there have been a few upsets on the way too.

Bengaluru FC, the title champions started slowly but they have picked up the full six points from their two games since the ISL resumed. Two-time winners Chennaiyin FC, who had gone nearly 800 minutes without scoring in the ISL, finally eked out a 2-1 win against Hyderabad FC and then procured a thrilling 2-2 draw against Odisha FC to finally get their campaign up and running.

The Machans also replaced John Gregory with Owen Coyle as their gaffer, so it remains to be seen how the new boss sets his team up now. The other two-time champions, ATK had started their season brightly but two successive draws against Odisha FC and Mumbai City FC, away and at home respectively has somewhat dented their run. They will be looking to get back to winning ways against NorthEast United today, but the Highlanders are no pushovers.

They are one of the 2 teams who are still unbeaten this season, and they will be confident given how well they usually play at home. The draw away to Jamshedpur FC will also give them a ton of confidence going into the game, as historically the Cauldron has not always been a happy hunting place for the Brigadiers.

Speaking of Jamshedpur FC, they have picked up 4 points from their 2 games as well which includes a major victory away to FC Goa. Sergio Castel has been unstoppable for Jamshedpur FC and there is no doubt he will be looking to keep his run going. The Gaurs have hit a snag, picking up only 1 point from an available 6 but their manager Sergio Lobera has reasons to stay confident given that just a single win will put them right back on track.

Also read: ISL 2019: Chennaiyin FC appoint former Burnley manager Owen Coyle

Mumbai City FC, who recently got acquired by the City Football Group has picked up 2 points from 2 games but the poor form of their diminutive forward Sougou will be a major concern for manager Jorge Costa. Kerala Blasters has garnered 2 points from the 3 games they have played since the last week of November and are finding themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It has been a miserable start for the Manjapaddas and Eelco Schattorie does not seem to have very long to figure out what is going wrong for his side. Newbies Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC both find themselves at the bottom half of the table with the latter being rooted at the last spot. They have both picked up only 1 point from their last 2 matches but the performances have been commendable and they should stay positive going into the next stretch of games.

Takeaways from Week 4 and Week 5:

Eelco Schattorie needs to sort his players and tactics out

Kerala Blasters has been struggling in the ISL and off-the-field controversies keep coming up to distort their focus. They have 6 points from 7 matches so far while key striker Ogbeche has not got going yet. The debate over not playing Sahal enough, fan fights and Schattorie’s Twitter rants seem to have an overly negative impact on the team, on the field. The Schattorie-Ogbeche combination was the reason why Northeast United made it to the knockouts last season for the first time ever but it seems increasingly unlikely that he can replicate the same magic for the Manjapaddas given how it has panned out so far. In the midst of all this though, Messi Bouli’s goals have come handy and he could be a key player for the Blasters if they can sort themselves out at the earliest.

Chennaiyin get going finally

https://twitter.com/ChennaiyinFC/status/1202241147663335431

756 minutes without a goal, 289 days without an ISL win: the stats were a damning read for the Machans until Schembri and Valsjkis decided to take the matter in their own hands. The duo has four goals between them in the last two games and has not only managed to end the winless streak but also given the team a real shot in the arm. The appointment of Owen Coyle could turn out to be a masterstroke or an explosion waiting to happen, so there is no doubt that there is a lot riding for them right now and all eyes will be on their next match.

Mumbai City FC needs to be much more disciplined

The Islanders had a fairytale run to the knockouts last season but they look like a shadow of their former selves. They have been sloppy in possession which has led them to concede a lot of silly goals, and manager Costa needs to find a fix for that really soon. He could really do with Lucian Goain back in his squad, couldn’t he?

Some key stats from the season so far

Matches Played: 32

Goals Scored: 80

Avg goals per game: 2.5

Most goals: 5 — Sergio Castel(Jamshedpur FC)

Most assists: 3 — Jerry Mawhmingthanga (Odisha FC), Brandon Fernandes (FC Goa), Mohammed Larbi(Mumbai City FC)

Matches to look forward to in Gameweek 6:

Jamshedpur FC v Chennaiyin FC

As mentioned before, all eyes will be on Owen Coyle and Chennaiyin as his side take on the high-flying Jamshedpur FC.

FC Goa v ATK

Easily one of the biggest games of the season, FC Goa will be eager to get back to winning ways while ATK will be looking to set the pace in terms of the points table.

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