Alaeddine Ajaraie, record breaker. Mohun Bagan, inevitable. Sergio Lobera just about Sergio Lobera-ing. A Kolkata derby with no fizz. All that and more in this week's Indian Super League musings:
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We knew Alaeddine was a magician, now he's a record shattering one
20 goals. Twenty.
When Ferran Corominas hit 18 goals in 2017-18 that felt untouchable. When Bart Ogbeche scored just as many in 2021-22, it felt truly remarkable. Alaeddine Ajaraie has come and swept it all aside. Two goals at either end of the match against Jamshedpur (6' and 83') saw the Moroccan put a rubber stamp on what has to be the greatest individual season in the history of ISL.
And it was an important win. NorthEast's position in the top 6 was looking a little precarious, but the man with the magic lamp has made it just that bit safer. It's almost incidental that he's smashing every record in sight (and he has three games more to keep doing that in the league stage.) What a player, what a season he's having.
Who leaves Mourtada Fall unmarked at a set piece?
Hyderabad FC. That's who.
And that just about sums up their season. After outplaying a much stronger-on-paper Odisha and taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, they proved to be their own worst enemies when they let all 6 feet 4 inches of Fall to be so free in their own penalty box that he could stoop to head home a corner with not a defender in his immediate vicinity. The moment that equaliser rocketed in, Odisha took over - and a 1-3 loss meant Hyderabad lost whatever remote mathematical chance they had of making the top 6.
For Odisha, though, the all-important three points ensured they stay put in Mumbai City's rearview mirror with just three games to go. This is by no means a vintage Sergio Lobera side, but they've played just well enough to remain in the reckoning for the playoffs: and this match was a succinct example of that.
Udanta's performances a further testament to Marquez's coaching
If you had any doubts over Manolo Marquez's coaching nous, have a look at how Udanta Singh has played all season. Written off as a player well past his prime by Bengaluru FC, eyebrows were raised when FC Goa made a move for him. No one's questioning it now, though. Three goals and two assists may seem meagre but his incessant running down the right flank has been key to Goa's gameplan this season -- against Mumbai City, that was sharply highlighted. Yet another testament, then, that Manolo Marquez has still very much got it.
Mumbai, meanwhile, showed once again what they have all season -- they are too good to be dragged into the lower mid-table scrap, but they're nowhere near good enough to challenge the big boys. Not in the league stage, anyway.
Too little, too late for Chennaiyin
A hard-fought 2-1 win over Punjab FC was exactly the kind of result (and importantly, performance) Chennaiyin fans have been beseeching their team to produce - just that it's come so late in the season, it oughtn't have much of an effect on it. While still mathematically in the playoffs-race, getting to the finish line will take some doing. What will hurt everyone invested in the club is that this is a team that was capable of doing it, if only they had sorted things out a bit sooner.
For Punjab it was another bad hit in a season that started ever so promisingly, but seems to be ending with barely a whimper.
Mohun Bagan were too good for the Kerala Blasters. What's new?
Since 2020, when Bagan entered the ISL as ATK MB, the Blasters have won one, drawn one and lost eight of their matches against the Kolkata giants. Combine that history with (much more importantly) how this season has gone for the two teams and this result was arguably the safest bet of the match week.
The manner of the defeat, though, will sting. Blasters started well before Liston Colaco blew them away with a moment of fine skill. His dribble past two Blasters markers was lovely, and his assist smart, but the way the defence crumbled spoke volumes about the season they've been having. What's more, once it became 1-0, it was essentially a question of how many - and that will hurt the Blasters faithful more than anything.
P.S. Bagan need three points in three to mathematically confirm a well-deserved league shield (again). What a unit they are. The Blasters, meanwhile, will need to be near-perfect to stand a chance of making it into the top 6 and salvaging something out of this season.
A fizzle-less Kolkata derby is a sad sight
Mohammedan may have gotten into the ISL this season via promotion, but they will stay in it for the next only because there's no relegation. The only team to not be in contention for a top 6 spot at the start of this matchweek, they showed exactly why in a lackluster display against great rivals East Bengal.
For the red-and-gold a win was good, as all derby wins are, but they are so far off the pace that it's hard to find much to cheer about. Despite having a very decent summer transfer window, East Bengal look all set to continue their run of missing out on the ISL playoffs.
Those two factors must have been playing heavy in the minds of supporters, because the build-up-to and actual-atmosphere-in the match was flat. And there can no worse way to describe an age-old derby. The reunification of all three Kolkata teams into the league was supposed to introduce more feistiness and fizz to proceedings, but the horrid struggles of two of the club means that's simply not happened.