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:
We knew Alaeddine was a magician, now he's a record shattering one
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.
The 2024-25 season of the Indian Super League is in full swing, and with games coming thick and fast, this is a convenient place to catch up on every match. We'll have a report after every match, right up to the rest day signalling the end of the matchweek.
ISL Standings | ISL Results and Fixtures | ISL Playoff Scenarios
The report on all matches from matchweek 20 is here.
Here are the details for matchweek 21 of ISL 2024-25 with the latest match report coming first:
Mohammedan SC 1-3 East Bengal
(Franca 68' – Naorem Mahesh Singh 27', Saul Crespo 65', David Lalhlansang 89')
East Bengal kept the faintest of hopes of making the top six alive, as they beat Mohammedan SC 3-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium in the final Kolkata Derby of the season, as Oscar Bruzon's men made light work of the league's bottom team.
They took the lead in the first half thanks to a rare goal this season for Naorem Mahesh Singh. After half-time, Saul Crespo doubled East Bengal's lead, before Franca scored for Mohammedan SC to give them a glimmer of hope. But that was soon snuffed out by David Lalhlansanga, who scored just before the final whistle to make sure of the points for East Bengal.
East Bengal have 21 points in 20 games now, and can only make the playoffs if they win all their remaining games, and have a slew of other results go their way.
Kerala Blasters 0-3 Mohun Bagan
(Jamie Maclaren 28', 40', Alberto Rodriguez 66')
Jamie Maclaren's brace put Mohun Bagan just a win away from retaining the league shield crown, after a dominant display in Kochi gave Jose Molina's side a 3-0 win over the Kerala Blasters.
Maclaren gave Bagan the lead after a superb assist from Liston Colaco in the 28th minute, and then went on to double the lead before half-time, as Bagan did what they have done all season – being clinical and efficient with the chances that they had. Alberto Rodriguez scored a customary goal off a set-piece in the second half.
The result left Bagan on 49 points in 21 games. The most FC Goa in second place can achieve is 51 points, which means that one more winwill be enough for Bagan to seal the league shield.
Chennaiyin FC 2-1 Punjab FC
(Wilmar Jordan Gil 19', Daniel Chima Chukwu 84' – Luka Majcen 48')
Chennaiyin FC's faint playoff hopes remained alive thanks to a 2-1 win over Punjab FC in Chennai on Saturday evening, as the visitors' playoff hopes took a hit too.
Wilmar Jordan gave Chenaniyin the lead from the penalty spot, but they were pegged back immediately after half-time by Luka Majcen, whose superb season now has another goal added to it.
Eventually though, it was the much-maligned Daniel Chima Chukwu who had the last say with the winner, after a nice through ball from Lukas Brambilla.
Chennaiyin are now still in 10th, with 24 points from 21 games, and need a host of results to go their way, along with winning their remaining three games to be able to make the playoffs.
Odisha FC 3-1 Hyderabad FC
(Mourtada Fall 47', Hugo Boumous 49', Rahim Ali 70' – Stefan Sapic 31')
Odisha kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 comeback win over Hyderabad FC, courtesy three second-half goals. The result took Odisha within two points of Mumbai in the final playoff spot, while Hyderabad were eliminated from playoff contention and remained second-from-bottom in the table.
Hyderabad FC opened the scoring in the 31st minute after some poor defending from Odisha. After failing to clear the ball from a corner, the hosts had to deal with a recycled cross into the box, and Stefan Sapic rose high to head it back across goal, with Mohammed Rafi heading it back into danger, allowing Sapic to stab home from close range, ensuring Hyderabad went into the break with the lead.
Odisha scored twice early in the second half to turn the game around. First, Mortada Fall was found by Hugo Boumous at the far post following a corner, and the defender made no mistake with a header into the top corner. Minutes later, Sapic played a poor pass out the back and Odisha won the ball back high up the pitch. Boumous drove into the box and saw his low drive deflect off Alex Saji's foot and trickle into the bottom corner. The hosts made sure of the points in the 70th minute, when Rahim Ali ran onto a long ball and finished from a narrow angle to make it 3-1. Odisha saw out the rest of the half to collect all three points.
Jamshedpur FC 0-2 NorthEast United FC
(Alaeddine Ajaraie 6', 82')
NorthEast United climbed to fourth place, two points behind Jamshedpur in the ISL table with a 2-0 win away from home, courtesy a brace from record-breaker Alaeddine Ajaraie.
It didn't take long for NorthEast to open the scoring, with Ajaraie finding the net in the 6th minute. As Jamshedpur pushed up, Redeem Tlang sent a long ball forward that fell perfectly for Thoi Singh in space down the right wing, and he measured a perfect low cross for Ajaraie to tap home. With his 19th goal and 24th goal contribution of the season, the Moroccan had thus broken Bart Ogbeche's single season scoring record and Ferran 'Coro' Corominas's record of goal contributions.
The second half saw Ajaraie and Nestor Albiach go close, with Jamshedpur offering litte going forward. As the game neared the final ten minutes, Nikhil Barla's late sliding tackle on Thoi Singh resulted in a penalty. Ajaraie stepped up and while Albino Gomes saved his strike down the middle, he couldn't keep out the rebound from the Moroccan, who extended his record to 20 goals and 25 goal contributions for the season, while also wrapping up all three points for NorthEast.
Mumbai City FC 1-3 FC Goa
(Lallianzuala Chhangte (P) 90+7' – Iker Guarrotxena 24' 41', Borja Herrera 63')
FC Goa ended Mumbai City's 13-match unbeaten run in the ISL with a superlative 3-0 win, courtesy a first-half brace from Iker Guarrotxena. The result dragged Goa back to within 7 points of Mohun Bagan at the top in second place, while Mumbai remained fifth in the table with 31 points, two above NorthEast in the final playoff spot.
Vikram Partap Singh and Borja Herrera forced saves at either end in the first twenty minutes, but it was Iker Guarrotxena who broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Cutting inside from the left wing, the Spaniard evaded a multitude of tackles from Mumbai's players, before taking his time and caressing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Udanta Singh had been Goa's major threat down the right wing all game, and he created the second goal for the visitors a few minutes before the break. The Indian winger exchanged a 1-2 with Borja and found space down the right, before sending in a pitch-perfect cross to Guarrotxena, who made no mistake with a volleyed finish into the net, to ensure Goa led 2-0 at the break.
Mumbai threatened a bit at the start of the second half, but were undone by Phurba Lachenpa's erroneous pass out from the back, which saw Udanta send in another of his whipped crosses into the box. Mehtab Singh could only head the ball back into the box, and Borja was first to the rebound, toe-poking it under Lachenpa at the near post and making it 3-0 in the 63rd minute. Goa saw out most of the second half, right until Hrithik Tiwari conceded a penalty in injury time and Lallianzuala Chhangte scored the consolation from the spot.