With 46 of 91 games now complete, the Indian Super League heads into the second half of the season, with Mumbai City FC as surprise leaders with 17 points from seven games.
However, Mohun Bagan SG, Bengaluru FC, Jamshedpur FC (and even potentially East Bengal FC and Punjab FC) remain three points behind, and the title is well and truly up for grabs.
At the bottom end of the table, relegation is going to come down to either Kerala Blasters and Mohammedan SC and it is anyone's guess how that will go.
We muse, on games 41 to 46 of the ISL.
Chhangte's reinvention pushes Mumbai to the top
All of Lallianzuala Chhangte's goals this season have been difference-makers. He has scored the winner in three victories and earned Mumbai a draw as well. Ergo, Chhangte's four goals have resulted in seven additional points for his club. Even in a full-length season, that would be the difference between winning the title and not; more so in this truncated season.
Chhangte being an impactful player isn't really new to the ISL, having won ESPN's Player of the season award two seasons running (2022-23 and 2023-24). However, if tasked with predicting what sort of goals he'd be scoring this year... no one would have seen this coming.
While Chhangte still retains his trickery and ability to score a worldie from distance, he's added an additional arrow to his quiver. Standing five feet and six inches tall, Chhangte has somehow metamorphosised into a proper no.9 scoring towering headers. His latest winner, against Odisha, was peak old-school CF play, burying it into top corner with his noggin' after an excellent cross.
Petr Kratky has stumbled upon a winning formula for Mumbai, keeping a compact shape and just waiting for Chhangte's inevitable winner. Four of the club's five wins this season have been 1-0 victories, and if Chhangte keeps jumping as high as Peter Crouch all season long, silverware surely awaits.
Aimen returns to haunt Blasters, and there is further pain incoming
It just had to be him. Coming through the Blasters academy ranks, Mohammed Aimen and Mohammed Azhar caused quite a stir when they joined former youth coach Tomasz Tchorz at SC Delhi ahead of this season. It was a stick used to beat the Blasters' management with ahead of the season, and that stick has grown to a Redwood tree trunk after Aimen's goal in Delhi's 2-0 win over the Blasters.
Whatever faint hopes Ashley Westwood's arrival had instilled in the fanbase were swiftly extinguished when downright comical defending from the Blasters allowed Aimen to have acres of space in the box and an almost open goal to tap the ball into. The Manjappada have already made their intentions clear with a proposal to boycott attending games, with other fan groups also following suit.
A positive performance against fellow minnows would have eased fears of relegation, but the loss has only served to amplify the very real possibility. Westwood's ability to put a defence together is well known, but with so little time left in the season, it's hard to see where Blasters may even earn a point. A home game against Mohammedan SC on 10th May could be a battle for existence for the club, as relegation could prove fatal for operations.
Jamshedpur, Bengaluru, Bagan prove the title isn't a foregone conclusion
Mohun Bagan looked all set to walk away from Jamshedpur with all three points, before Ritwik Das ghosted into the box and guided an equalizing header home. Owen Coyle's side were well worth their point, and that result threw the title race open, dragging Bagan back to 14 points alongside Jamshedpur. Bengaluru soon joined them on 14 with a 2-0 win over FC Goa, and Renedy Singh's reward will be to be replaced by Pep Munoz.
In a 13-game season, the initial supposition was that even minor blips would serve to end a team's title hopes, but reality has played out differently. Most of the teams in the hunt for the title, Mumbai included, have plenty of flaws, and any of the top teams can beat each other. It has meant that even East Bengal, with 11 points from six games, can still hope to lift the ISL trophy.
It is shaping up to be one of the most exciting title races in recent years.
The lack of playoffs will be felt
The ISL has a superb title race, and the relegation contest between Kerala Blasters and Mohammedan SC is all set to go down to the wire. While relegation was introduced with the intention of bringing jeopardy to the other half of the table, and thus reduce the number of dead rubbers, the lack of playoffs this ISL season has meant there are plenty of games like Inter Kashi's 2-1 win away to Chennaiyin FC.
Both clubs are pretty safe from relegation and are decidedly not in the title mix, so have little left to play for this season. Thus, Alfred Planas' brace seemed almost inconsequential as Kashi pulled off their second win of the season. Chennaiyin's woes remain but aren't as headine-grabbing simply because they're mostly safe.
Were there playoffs, these games would have mattered, but instead, even halfway into a 91 game ISL season, we're already witnessing pointless games. While the purists will celebrate the fairness of the league winner winning the trophy, the lack of playoffs have certainly diminished interest for many mid-table clubs.