I-League 2017-18: Season ratings of all I-League clubs

#6 Shillong Lajong (6.5/10)

Shillong Lajong finished sixth in the league

The Southampton of Indian Football, Shillong Lajong, is India’s ever-present mid-table team. With most of their last season’s team having joined the ISL, the Reds from Shillong fielded a team which included only their academy graduates, in the Indian contingent.

They had the lowest average age among all the professional clubs playing in the I-League and were led by a 19-year-old boy named Samuel Lalmuanpuia.

Lalmuanpia was the youngest captain in the I-League excluding the Indian Arrows team. Lajong finished sixth in the league and it is seen as a good achievement given the youngsters present in their side.

Their biggest achievement this season has to be the victory over FC Pune City in the Super Cup. They overcame all odds in a tie which had all the bets stacked against them, but the young, resilient boys from Shillong achieved victory in the most unlikely situation.

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#5 Aizawl FC (6/10)

Last season's champions had a topsy-turvy campaign

Last season’s champions Aizawl had a topsy-turvy season. They saw most of their players from last season move to bigger clubs and had to build a team from scratch.

They had issues off the field too with their coach Paulo Menezes being sacked halfway through the season.

Santosh Kashyap was roped in to guide the team till the end of the season. Their inconsistent form this season had a big role to play in the position they finished in the I-League.

They did a brilliant job to oust ISL champions Chennaiyin FC in the second round of the Super Cup and fought brilliantly against East Bengal in the third round.

Their inexperience and burden of playing in Asia got the better of them as they failed to manage to play in Asia and the cup tie simultaneously.

Their form is Asia has been very poor as they lie bottom of the group with just one game to play.