FC Goa signed off from 2019 in style, ensuring they remained at the summit of the 2019-‘20 Indian Super League heading into the new year as Matchday 10 came to a end on Sunday.
The latter half of the table did not witness any changes as bottom-placed Hyderabad FC and struggling Kerala Blasters failed to turn around their fortunes.
Owen Coyle slumped to his first defeat as Chennaiyin FC manager despite giving table-toppers FC Goa a major scare in a seven-goal thriller.
The biggest shock of the week came in Kolkata where ATK beat Bengaluru FC, pushing the defending champions down to third place in the standings.
Perennial slow starters Mumbai City also grabbed their first home win of the season to climb fourth, as the race for the semi-finals got tighter.
Here are the key takeaways from the final gameweek of the year:
ATK make a bold statement
All it took was David Williams’ strike to separate the two heavyweights on a mouth-watering Christmas day clash in Kolkata as ATK made their bid for the title clear by toppling Bengaluru FC, becoming just the second side to do so this season. With that, they also snapped the Blues’ unbeaten run away from home this season.
Statistically, both sides were pretty even but Antonio Habas’ men won the battle on the field by simply outworking their opponents. After a first-half where any clear-cut opportunities eluded both teams, ATK grabbed their chance through Williams right after the break when Bengaluru were sloppy in defence. It was a half-chance and the hosts grabbed it with both hands.
Even when the visitors probed and enjoyed more of the ball after conceding, ATK functioned as a well-drilled united and got enough bodies behind the ball to thwart any danger from their opponents. Sunil Chhetri and Co were left frustrated in the end, failing to register even a single shot on target.
Santana emerges hero in Bhubaneswar
Playing their first match at home in Bhubaneshwar after shifting base from Pune earlier this season, the onus was on Odisha FC to put on a show. They did that in style, beating Jamshedpur FC and thanks to one man - striker Aridane Santana.
Putting an end to this three-game drought, the Spaniard not only struck a double but his work rate was commendable - right from bursting forward to doing the dirty work whenever his team were caught off guard by Jamshedpur’s high press. The Odisha FC hitman was in the thick of action throughout the game.
Santana made his presence felt in the other half of the pitch too, mainly with a last-ditch clearance off the line in injury-time to deny Jamshedpur midfielder Memo an equaliser.
The 32-year-old, who has six goals to his name this season, is placed just behind FC Goa striker Ferran Corominas (7) and ATK’s Roy Krishna (8) in the race for the Golden Boot.
Pressure mounts on Schattorie
This is sounding like a broken record but matters are only getting worse for Eelco Schattorie at Kerala Blasters - from ineffective tactics to being forced to chop and change his eleven because of constant injuries.
Against NorthEast United, Schattorie’s team failed to clear any chances from open play and the hosts were lucky to grab the lead through Bartholomew Ogbeche after a controversial penalty.
The Dutchman, however, was forced to tweak his formation again after an injury to defender Raju Gaikwad just before the break. He also took off Sahal Abdul Samad, the midfielder who played a slightly advanced role.
Their defence was all over the place in the second half and nerves eventually got the better of them, as Blasters squandered their lead yet again.
No other team has dropped more points (9) from winning positions this season than Kerala Blasters.
Despite the open and expansive style of play Schattorie has brought to Kochi, the lack of winning mentality may be the root cause behind their slump so far.
Sougou back among the goals
Switching to a newer role on the right wing from last season where he had finished joint-highest goalscorer, Mumbai City hitman Moudou Sougou hadn’t found the net all season.
The change was difficult for the Senegalese given that Amine Chermiti has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the line by manager Jorge Costa.
But with the Moroccan missing out against Hyderbad FC through injury, Sougou reverted to the No 9 role and displayed how lethal he can be - scoring a brace to propel the Islanders to the top four.
His first goal came through an easy tap-in but he demonstrated his goalscoring prowess in the second - positioning himself cleverly from a long ball where he outsmarted keeper Kamaljit Singh and scored a delightful dink on his first touch.
The Senegalese became the 13th different goalscorer for the Islanders across their past 10 games.
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