ISL 2017/18: 5 star players who might miss out on playoffs

The fourth edition of ISL has reached its business end and quite a few teams are still engaged in a battle for playoff spots. While Bengaluru FC have confirmed their place in the top four, as many as six teams are fighting it out for the remaining three spots.

Football has always been a team game where individual efforts, on most occasions, aren’t enough to guarantee success to a team.

Same is the story of some players in this season. These footballers have performed well but their respective franchises have let them down and now they face the prospect of missing out on the knockout stages of the tournament.

#1 Marcinho

The Brazilian midfielder has been a revelation scoring four of NorthEast United’s 10 goals this edition. He featured in 15 games for the Highlanders and has dominated proceedings whenever he has found the ball at his feet. Marcinho also turned provider on one occasion which means he has had a hand in half of NorthEast’s goal tally in ISL 4.

However, the John Abraham-owned team lacked the edge in the attacking third and was also dismal in defence which has inadvertently knocked them out of the playoff race. Currently, they are 9th on the table with 11 points from 16 games.