Did the club you support get off to a disappointing start in the 2020-21 edition of the Indian Super League (ISL)? If they did, there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about.
Let's rewind a little. After a lot of confusion about how the new ISL season will be organised amidst a Coronavirus pandemic, the competition finally kicked off on November 20, 2020, in Goa.
While all the stakeholders were glad to welcome top tier football back, there were concerns regarding how the tournament would play out due to the setup that the clubs found themselves in. All the squads were locked in a bio-bubble in Goa and only got to work on a short pre-season schedule before the season kicked off.
And when the season finally kicked off, there were a lot of injury concerns for teams and slow starts that went with it. However, this wasn't a case for just one or two teams.
The issues that each club had at the start of the season were not too different from each other. After 13 games, as teams get over their slow starts, there is nothing much that is separating at least eight out of the 11 participants.
ISL
East Bengal, who had the shorted pre-season among all teams due to delays in paperwork regarding their entry into the ISL, had failed to pick up wins in their first seven matches. Their first win of the season came against Odisha in their eighth match but five more games later, they are only six points behind the fourth-placed team.
The ongoing seventh season is turning out to be the most competitive season of ISL in recent years, with only six points (a matter of two wins!) separating fourth-placed Hyderabad from tenth-placed East Bengal. FC Goa, who are third on the table, are eight points above the Red and Golds.
Consider a team like Kerala Blasters who have been disappointing this season and lie ninth on the table with just three wins to their name. They have 14 points and are only four points behind fourth. In fact, only Odisha have been thoroughly disappointing and have fallen behind, with just one win and eight points in 13 games at the bottom of the table.
For a lot of teams, a chance to get into the playoffs was nearly ruled out after their poor starts. But going by how equal the teams have turned out to be this season, except for ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City who have performed consistently, all these teams are very much involved in a tight race to nab the two seemingly available spots in the top four.
It is certainly difficult but not impossible.
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