ISL 2018-19: ATK vs Kerala Blasters 5 Talking Points

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 The Indian Super League 2018-19 edition kicked off today with two-time champion ATK facing two-time runner-up Kerala Blasters. This season will prove to be a mouthwatering contest as all the teams have had ample time to acclimatise with the Indian football scenario.

The season opener was billed as a high voltage encounter, and it did a certain amount of justice to the tag as two heavyweights of the ISL faced off against each other. 

Kerala had never beaten ATK in Kolkata before, and the stakes were high for David James side, and in the end, the Blasters did manage to beat ATK two goals to nil with goals from Matej Poplatnik and Slavisla Stojanovic securing the victory for Kerala Blasters. 

On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from today's game.

#1 Bright Start from Kerala Blasters, ATK look shaky off the blocks

Kerala Blasters had an excellent start to the game as they had three chances to score in the first eight minutes of the game. Kerala had more teeth in attack and looked to play decisive football. 

ATK, on the other hand, lacked coordination and had no sort of combination working in the middle of the pitch. The midfielders had a considerable number of miss placed passes. 

The ATK attackers failed to break open the Kerala defence, and Balwant Singh was often seen dropping deep to get hold of the ball. 

The Kerala wingers did an excellent job in stretching the ATK defence and creating spaces for the strikers and midfielders to exploit. 

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