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The Season 4 of the Hero Indian Super League came to a thrilling end as Chennaiyin FC conquered the title for the second time beating Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The season saw the arrival of two new teams to the mix as Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC entered the league. The two sides ended up performing well as Bengaluru FC dominated the league stages and ended atop the final standings whereas Jamshedpur FC missed out on a playoffs spot but finished on the fifth position.
We take a brief look at the teams' performances and rate them out of 10 accordingly.
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#1 Bengaluru FC
The debutantes came in with a high pedigree of title wins excelling in the I-League and were expected to do well with a well-balanced squad. They lived up to the expectations and steamrolled the competition in the ISL with a massive eight-point lead at the top of the league standings as they ended up on 40 points from the eighteen matches.
They made great foreign signings - Miku, Edu Garcia, Erik Paartalu and Dimas Delgado who all contributed well to the side. The skipper Sunil Chhetri was in superb form throughout the competition finishing amongst the top scorers. Albert Roca also managed to assemble a stable backline that rounded off the well-structured Bengaluru FC side.
Our Rating - 8.5/1
#2 Chennaiyin FC
The champions of the Season 4, Chennaiyin FC won their second title in four years as a result of a squad that composed of a good balance between youth and experience all around. Coach John Gregory managed to get the best out of the team even in adverse situations as the team never went on a consistent winning run on their way to the second spot in the league.
Mailson Alves, Henrique Sereno, and Inigo Calderon were the pillars of the Chennaiyin FC defence and held their own against a formidable Bengaluru FC attack in the finals to churn out the win.
Our Rating - 9/10
#3 FC Goa
Sergio Lobera brought a Spanish flavour to the shores of Goa as the Gaurs played a possession-based game to great effect with the attacking quality upfront as they scored 42 goals in the league stages.
The attack was spearheaded by league top-scorer Ferran Corominas (Coro) and his partner Manuel Lanzarote as they run riot on defences scoring four or more goals on five occasions.
However, FC Goa struggled with their defensive capability and leaked many goals which brought an inconsistency to their season.
Our Rating - 8/10
#4 FC Pune City
FC Pune City kickstarted their season with perhaps one of the best forward pairs in the league - Marcelinho and Emiliano Alfaro in their ranks. They were managed by the hot-headed Ranko Popovic but played a good brand of effective football on the pitch.
Marcelinho led from the front with a total of 8 goals and 7 assists to his credit. FC Pune City unearthed two good defensive talents - Gurtej Singh and Sahil Panwar who impressed with their performances throughout the season. They managed to secure a playoffs spot but ended up losing to Bengaluru FC over two legs.
Our Rating - 8/10
#5 Jamshedpur FC
The ISL newcomers were managed by former Kerala Blasters FC coach Steve Coppell and he managed to instil similar qualities in Jamshedpur FC as well. They were the best defensive side in the league with the centre-back pairing of Tiri and Andrey Bikey leaking just 18 goals throughout the season.
However, they lacked the attacking bite and were the second lowest scoring side in the league despite having strikers like Trindade Goncalves and Kervens Belfort.
Our Rating - 7/10
#6 Kerala Blasters FC
The two-time finalists Kerala Blasters FC brought in former Manchester United FC assistant coach Rene Meulensteen at the helm. However, after a string of poor results, they parted ways and former Kerala Blasters keeper David James was given the charge.
Kerala Blasters were boosted by the managerial change and produced a few impressive performances but those were a shadow of their previous years' showing in the ISL.
Our Rating - 6/10
#7 Mumbai City FC
The Islanders, who had finished atop the league standings last season were the only club to retain the services of their manager Alexandre Guimaraes. The side who were known to be a dominant force at their home ground proved to be lacklustre this season.
They were inconsistent throughout the season and never managed a run of good performances putting them out of contention for the playoffs as well as the Super Cup. Everton Santos and Thiago Santos, the two Brazilian imports impressed with their showing on the pitch but their efforts were in vain in the end.
Our Rating - 5.5/10
#8 Delhi Dynamos FC
The North Indian franchise had a rollercoaster season as they began with a run of six losses on the trot with nothing going their way. They were heavily reliant on playmaker Matias Mirabaje but the attackers did not fire in front of the goal. Lallianzuala Chhangte was one of the bright spots in the team along with Nandhakumar Sekar.
They somehow managed to recover in the second half of the season and put out impressive performances with Kalu Uche leading the way scoring on a consistent basis. In the end, it was too little, too late for the Dynamos.
Our Rating - 5/10
#9 ATK
The two-time ISL champions came into the season with a good showing at the ISL draft with a well-assembled squad. They were hit injuries to key players as Eugeneson Lyngdoh missed out the entire season and marquee signing Robbie Keane missing a few games as well. Portuguese winger Zequinha was impressive with his contribution.
They were very poor defensively conceding 30 goals, the second highest in the league and were not able to take full advantage of the potential of the squad.
Our Rating - 4.5/10
#10 NorthEast United FC
The Northeast franchise had a dismal season in the ISL with nothing going their way at all. The only player who managed to impress was playmaker Marcinho but he did not find any support from his attackers as they fired blanks.
They had a managerial change in the middle of the season with former Chelsea manager Avram Grant taking charge from Joao de Dues but that did not change their fortunes as they ended the season with an 8-match winless streak.
Our Rating - 3/10
