Matchweek three of the ISL has flown by us and it was a cracker. You can find the facts and figures of all the matches that happened this previous matchweek right here, but now onto our third edition of the ISL Musings this season:
ISL Standings | ISL Results and Fixtures
Bengaluru FC are back
Three games, three wins, top of the table. Based on this start to the season, it's hard to escape the assumption that BFC are back. The last of those wins, against defending league shield holders Mohun Bagan showcased their strengths: a deep squad that has raised both the floor and ceiling of the team, forwards delivering on multiple fronts, a midfield that is tough but comfortable on the ball, a defence that can rotate personnel with a good degree of comfort and Sunil Chhetri smiling again.
The Blues go top of the standings with three wins in three! ��
Next stop, Mumbai!✈️#WeAreBFC #ನೀಲಿಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ #BFCMCFC pic.twitter.com/kExU5GS5nX
- Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) September 29, 2024
Gerard Zaragoza has his team roaring early on, and while he may say they cannot allow expectations to skyrocket ("It's too early. [Bagan] will win a lot of matches; Mumbai City FC will be there, and Odisha FC will be there... and a lot of teams are improving this season..."), that won't be easy -- especially if they follow it up with another statement performance against Mumbai City on Wednesday.
Carles Cuadrat is gone, can EB escape the cycle?
On Monday, East Bengal announced that Carles Cuadrat had left the club. This came three days after their third loss in three games this season... and it all seems to fit into a larger problem for the club.
Over the past ten years (since 2014-15 onwards) East Bengal have had 14 full time managers. There have also been eight stints by caretaker managers (this will be Bino George's third). This is the kind of instability that leads to not competing for the national league title for over a decade -- and that's a cycle they need to put a stop to. Cuadrat came closest, with his Super Cup win ending a long trophy drought, but it felt almost inevitable that he would get the sack after the way EB ended last season and started this.
The next appointment is critical -- as all next appointments are, you could say -- and the EB board need to get it spot on. For the long-term future of the grand old club, some stability is much needed right now.
Mohammedan SC and Punjab highlighting the benefits of promotion
Punjab have won three in three and been very good value for all three: their Indian players have been fantastic even as the not-so-big foreign signings settle in after a huge squad refresh this summer. Mohammedan have won just one of three but been very tough to play against: their Indian players too raising the bar and collective expectations. The crowds have been fantastic (as you'd expect for the latter club), the games have been good and the established ISL clubs are not finding it easy at all.
This is exactly why the ISL always needed promotion -- and if you can add the pressure of relegation, you'd be upping the drama quotient (and the sustained quality of football quotient) even more. Let's follow up on that roadmap, please.
Odisha are purring, finally
Odisha may be 10th, but their performance against Jamshedpur FC will give coach Sergio Lobera hope that the opening two games were but a bad blip. Hugo Boumous has quickly settled in and seems to be enjoying linking up with old pal Ahmed Jahouh as well as the tricky wingers Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Isak Vanlalruatfela, and forwards Diego Mauricio and Roy Krishna. And when Boumous is purring, Lobera's teams generally tend to purr along with him.
They may have beat a very tough Jamshedpur FC 2-1 'only', but they were far better than even the scoreline suggested. Watch out Kerala Blasters...
Noah looks as good as ever, and that should embolden Blasters fans
Speaking of the Blasters, what a player Noah Sadaoui is, eh? After a tepid first half, the Blasters woke up in the second half of their game against NorthEast United. Even though they conceded a scrappy goal (Sachin Suresh should never have let that Alaeddine Ajaraie freekick to squirm through), they kept on, led by Noah. And it was the winger who gave them the equaliser with a superb solo effort, cutting in from the right and lashing an unstoppable effort with weaker left foot into the near bottom corner.
When Noah is in this mood, it's hard to stop him -- and what will give Blasters fans even more hope is that Adrian Luna was fit enough to play ten odd minutes. If the playmaker can get back to full fitness soon, Noah will become even more dangerous.
First hattrick of the season eases Manolo's worries a bit
We've finally seen a smile on Manolo Marquez's face this season, and it was thanks to a Borja Herrera special. Going back to his former club, Herrera was excellent as he smashed in the first hattrick of this season... and Goa were good value for their 3-2 win to boot.
1 - Borja Herrera scored his first hat-trick in the #ISL, becoming the ninth @FCGoaOfficial player to score a hat-trick in the competition, only Coro (2) has managed to do so multiple times for the Gaurs. Special.
��: @IndSuperLeague #EBFCFCG pic.twitter.com/j8okdtmN2m
- OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) September 27, 2024
Under pressure after a slow start to life as a hybrid manager (of club and country), Marquez needed that result. But it doesn't get any easier: up next, high-flying NorthEast United and then another stint with the national team.
Mohun Bagan need to improve -- across the board
Three games into the season and no one has conceded more goals in the ISL than Mohun Bagan. That's not something anyone would have predicted -- not just because of the considerable heft of the Bagan squad, but because of Jose Molina's track record in drilling defences and the general miserliness of Bagan teams past -- but here we are. They're shipping in goals of all manners, off set-pieces and quick counters and general open play and Molina knows he'll have to plug that hole pronto.
According to him, though, the fix starts further up field. "We are conceding too many goals. That's clear. Some of the goals we are conceding due to mistakes at the back, but most are due to mistakes in attack. To improve in defence, we need to improve in attack, as the better we can attack, the better we will defend," he said post the loss to Bengaluru. He then added, "We are a team that is not comfortable when we don't have the ball."
He would then go on to acknowledge that considering his squad this was simply not acceptable -- in identifying the issue and taking responsibility for it, he's taken the first step. The Bagan faithful will hope the next few steps are taken immediately too: with Tractor waiting in Asian Champions League 2 and a first derby of the season coming on Saturday, against Mohammedan.