Page 5 - Indian Super League

Lobera seeks first crown, Habas looks to keep knockout run going

Powerhouses Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan will be locked in a heavyweight battle for the top prize when they face off in the final of the Indian Super League (ISL) here on Saturday. Both sides have won 12 games having recorded just four defeats in the league stages respectively. Mumbai City FC prevailed on both occasions against the Kolkata side in the league stages including the final league match which handed them the top finish and the Asian Champions League (ACL) berth. For Mumbai, this will be their first ever final, but this year the team looks more confident under coach Sergio Lobera, who had formed the side by roping in players suiting his style of play. Many of the Mumbai players have played a final before but ended on the losing side along with Lobera. While Mumbai have shown their dominance over ATK Mohun Bagan, coach Antonio Habas has been most successful coach in the finals. He has already tasted success twice and is on verge of creating history by winning the s

Mumbai City FC, ATK Mohun Bagan face off in summit clash

As many as 114 games, 295 goals, 87,811 passes and 7307 tackles later, the Indian Super League 7 will culminate with a heavyweight summit showdown between Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan

ISL spent more than Rs 3 crore for upkeep of grounds in Goa

Organisers of the Indian Super League have spent more than Rs 3 crore to keep the grounds in order throughout the 2020-21 season of the country's biggest football event. The final of the seventh season of the league will be played on Sunday between ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC in Margao, Goa. This season's league is being played across three venues in Goa owing to the COVOD-19 pandemic. "The league spared no expense in ensuring that the grounds remained in top condition throughout the tournament - more than Rs 3 crores were spent on the pitches before and during the season," the ISL said in a release on Thursday. "The effort to keep these pitches up to mark saw 70 groundsmen work around the clock," it added. According to FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited), organisers of the event, the main challenge in hosting a huge number of games across three stadiums in such a short period of time was "maintaining the quality of the playing surfaces." "Both the main grounds and

Goa to host 2021 AFC Champions League Group E matches

Group E matches of the AFC Champions League (ACL) will be hosted in Goa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Thursday

ISL 7: ATK Mohun Bagan has shown great character, says coach Habas

After progressing to the final of the Indian Super League (ISL), ATK Mohun Bagan coach Antonio Habas said that his side has shown great character throughout the season.ATK Mohun Bagan held the fort against a spirited rearguard press by NorthEast United to seal a place in the ISL final with a 2-1 win (3-2 on aggregate) over the Highlanders at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday. With this win, the Mariners have set up a title clash against Mumbai City FC."I am very happy with the performance of the players and the staff. The team has good character. Maybe the players think a lot about the final. We didn't have any problem in the match," said Habas during the post-match press conference."We knew that we have to win the match. We didn't want to go to extra-time. Now the players are tired, there is a lot of humidity and there is the Covid-19. In the first 45 minutes, the team had intensity," he added.David Williams (38') continued his form in the playoffs by scoring yet again while Manvir ...

ISL 7: Proud of players, they worked very hard, says NorthEast coach Jamil

NorthEast United head coach Khalid Jamil praised his players for their hard work and for making it to the knockout stages of the Indian Super League (ISL)

ISL final: Mumbai strong but not invincible, say ATKMB players

Mumbai City FC are strong but not invincible, ATKMB top players, including goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya and defender Pritam Kotal, said on Thursday ahead of their ISL final against the Islanders

Hitesh Sharma signs two-year extension with Hyderabad FC

Young midfielder Hitesh Sharma has signed a two-year contract extension with Indian Super League (ISL) side Hyderabad FC, the club said on Wednesday. "I am really proud and happy to have signed this contract with Hyderabad FC," said Hitesh. "I believe that we have the best players, the best management and the best coaches we can ask for at the club and I hope to continue the hard work for years to come," he added. The 23-year-old, who joined Hyderabad FC in January 2020, played a crucial role in the side's fight for a place in the top-4 this league campaign. The youngster made 15 appearances (13 starts) and grew into a regular in the first team under head coach Manolo Marquez this season. He played a total of 1,060 minutes in the season, which remains his busiest league campaign in his career. "Hitesh is a really smart player, who understands the game very well," said Manolo. "He has a great attitude, is calm in possession and always seems to know to do the correct thing in ever

ISL 7: Bagan hold Highlanders to set up final against Mumbai

ATK Mohun Bagan held the fort against a spirited rearguard press by NorthEast United to seal a place in the Indian Super League (ISL) final with a 2-1 win (3-2 on aggregate)

Mohun Bagan pip NorthEast Utd 2-1 to set up ISL final against Mumbai City

ATK Mohun Bagan, in its first year as a joint entity, reached the Indian Super League final with a 2-1 victory over NorthEast United in the second leg of the play-offs, here on Tuesday. With this win, the Mariners have set up a blockbuster title clash against League Shield Winners Mumbai City FC. The green and maroon brigade won the two-leg play-offs by 3-2 aggregate. The result also means that Bagan have qualified for the AFC Cup Group Stages after finishing second in the league and qualifying for the final. Their opponents in the final, Mumbai City FC, have sealed the Asian Champions League spot. David Williams (38') continued his fine form in the play-offs by scoring yet again while Manvir Singh (68') added the second before VP Suhair (74') pulled a goal back for the Highlanders. Bagan adopted a completely different approach from the first leg. They had 16 shots in the first half but just three on target. It took them just three minutes to sound a warning. However, the Kolkata

ISL 7: Players totally deserve to be in the final, says Mumbai coach Lobera

After progressing to the final of the Indian Super League (ISL) for the very first time, Mumbai City FC coach Sergio Lobera said that his players totally deserve to be in the finals of the tournament.Two hundred and ten minutes of football over two legs, yet there was no winner to head into the final between Mumbai City FC and FC Goa. Such was the battle, that it came down to ISL's first-ever sudden death in a penalty shootout to decide the first finalist of season seven. And it turned out to be Mumbai City FC who had the last laugh as they edged FC Goa on penalties 6-5 at the GMC Stadium, Bambolim."I'm very happy because my players have done produced big effort because it's not easy to play 90 minutes, extra-time and then go into penalties. I am happy because these players deserve to play in the final," said Lobera during the post-match press conference."Amrinder Singh is the best goalkeeper in India. I don't have any doubt. He knows the situation. I want to congratulate the ...

ATKMB, NEUFC need outright win in 2nd leg to secure ISL final berth

Having drawn their first-leg tie, both ATK Mohun Bagan and NorthEast United FC would look for an outright win in the second leg semifinal clash in pursuit of a final spot in the Hero ISL

ISL semifinals: Goa and Mumbai play out 2-2 draw in first leg

FC Goa missed the chance to enter the second leg of the Indian Super League semifinals with an advantage as they squandered a lead twice in their 2-2 draw against Mumbai City FC here on Friday. Goa broke the deadlock through Igor Angulo's penalty (20') before his goal was cancelled out by Hugo Boumous (38'). The Gaurs then took the lead again through Saviour Gama (59') but Mourtada Fall (62') soon netted a vital equaliser to help the Islanders escape with a vital point. Mumbai keeper Amrinder Singh was called into action early on, making a routine save in the fifth minute. Jorge Ortiz's cutback found Gama whose effort was parried away for a corner. But, just moments after being denied a penalty, Goa were awarded one when Mandar Rao Dessai clipped Ortiz in the box. Angulo stepped up to take the spot-kick and sent Amrinder the wrong way to notch up his 13th goal of the season. The side to concede the most goals from set-pieces, Goa's weakness was exposed again as Boumous came back t

NorthEast Utd bank on magic run against Bagan in first leg of ISL playoffs

NorthEast United FC will look to continue their fairy tale run when they take on ATK Mohun Bagan in the first leg of second semifinal of the Indian Super League here on Saturday. NorthEast United were written off after their mid-season slump but they produced a stunning turnaround with Khalid Jamil leading them to their second playoffs. Jamil has remained unbeaten in the nine games, recording six wins and three draws and he will now look to carry on the momentum when his team clashes against ATK Mohun Bagan. "All the players have worked very hard. Because of them, we have reached here. I never think about the nine matches. It's about right from the first game. The boys have worked hard and I am very proud to be their coach," Jamil said. The match will be between two sides with similar approaches. Every time the Highlanders have taken a lead, they have been impossible to beat. They took the lead on 13 occasions this season and won eight, shared points in the rest. Bagan work on si

Pep congratulates Mumbai for topping ISL, says an incredible achievement

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Monday described sister club Mumbai City's feat of topping the ISL points table and booking a spot in the AFC Champions League as "an incredible achievement"

Mumbai City face FC Goa; ATK Mohun Bagan take on NorthEast in ISL semis

Mumbai City FC, ATK Mohun Bagan, NorthEast United FC and FC Goa have qualified for the play-off stages of the Indian Super League starting March 5

Mumbai City beat Bagan 2-0, book AFC Champions League spot

Mumbai City FC beat ATK Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the final league encounter of the Indian Super League on Sunday to book a place in the coveted AFC Champions League next season. Sergio Lobera's side comfortably won after first-half goals from Mourtada Fall (7th minute) and Bartholomew Ogbeche (39th). Despite losing the top spot to Mumbai, ATK Mohun Bagan will still harbour hopes of salvaging their season with a second successive Hero ISL title. Being the team with the most goals from set-pieces this season, Mumbai drew the first blood in a similar fashion, scoring with their first shot on target. Ahmed Jahouh's free-kick fell to an unmarked Fall, whose angular header gave Mumbai the lead. The Mariners took control of the game soon after conceding but were forced to make a substitution in the 19th minute with Prabir Das replacing the injured Sandesh Jinghan. Chances were far and few in between after the opening goal but it was from another set-piece that Mumbai doubled their advantage.

East Bengal and Odisha look to end ISL season on a high

Languishing at the bottom half of the table, both SC East Bengal and Odisha FC will look to end their campaign at the Indian Super League on a high when they clash at the GMC Stadium here on Saturday. While Odisha lie at the very bottom of the table, East Bengal haven't fared much better and are ninth. However, ending the season with a convincing win could provide some relief to both sets of long-suffering supporters. Robbie Fowler's side were always pegged down by the inability of their forwards to convert possession into goals. Bright Enobakhare remains the only striker to have netted this season and SCEB lie at the very bottom of the goals scored list. The club was also let down by the failure of their Indian forwards to fire. Despite boasting big names like Jeje Lalpekhlua, CK Vineeth and Balwant Singh, Fowler got zero shots on target from the trio. Odisha has had similar woes throughout the season. Except for Diego Mauricio, no other player stepped up in the goal scoring ...

ISL: Mumbai decimate Odisha 6-1, set up league finale against Bagan

Mumbai City rode out to a dominant 6-1 win over Odisha FC in the Indian Super League on Wednesday at the GMC Stadium

Jamshedpur, Bengaluru look to finish on a high with 6th place up for grabs

Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC will be aiming to end the Indian Super League (ISL) season on a winning note as they face each other at the Tilak Maidan Stadium