ISL 2017/18: Team of the week after round 11
The Week 11 of the ISL saw Deependra Singh Negi become the youngest goalscorer this season while Chhetri's 8th goal of the season made him the highest scoring Indian in an ISL season. 4 of the six matches ended with a scoreline of 2-1 & Mumbai City FC managed their 1st ever comeback win. But who were the 11 players that managed to raise eyebrows and take notice? Let's find out.
GK: Subrata Paul (Jamshedpur FC)
Subrata Paul helped Jamshedpur keep their 6th clean sheet this season against ATK & in the process, kept the Men of Steel's Top 4 hopes alive. He managed an incredible 11 saves in week 11 ( 7 vs FC Pune City & 4 vs ATK). He was the only Goal-keeper to keep a clean sheet in Round 11. He(34) is now only 5 behind Amrinder Singh(39) for most saves this season.
CB: Gurtej Singh (FC Pune City)
The towering center back continued his fine form this season, and scored his first ever goal in any domestic league since 2011! It was his goal that brought the Stallions back in the contest against Jamshedpur before Alfaro scored late to deny Jamshedpur any points from the fixture.
CB: Mailson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)
Chennaiyin has been a tough side to break this season, and the majority of the credit should go to Mailson Alves who despite playing without his partner Henrique Sereno at times has looked extremely solid and with his no-nonsense attitude managed a massive 10 clearances against ATK in Chennaiyin FC's 2-1 win. He not only defended well but scored the all-important equalizer which proved to be the catalyst in Chennaiyin finding a new life in the game.
CB: Raju Yumnam (Jamshedpur FC)
The Manipuri wing-back was deprived of opportunities in the initial phase of the season, with Shouvik Ghosh being given a nod ahead of him. But he has cemented his place in the XI by putting in some tireless performances. After all, he gave it his all in the 2-1 defeat to Pune, putting his body on the line with 6 tackles and read the game perfectly managing 3 interceptions. Against ATK, he once again put in a perfect shift registering 2 blocks, 2 clearances & 2 tackles to his name.
CM: Zakeer Mundampara (Mumbai City FC)
The Malappuram lad was brought into the XI with Gerson Vieira being slotted in the back 3 because of Goian not being 100% fit. He was unfazed in his rare start as he came up against the lofty Ahmed Jahouh and the quick feet of Edu Bedia, managing an impeccable passing accuracy of 93%, further contributing defensively with 3 blocks & 2 interceptions.
CM: Trindade Goncalves (Jamshedpur FC)
The Brazilian continued his love affair with the second half, scoring his 4th goal of the season against ATK which handed Jamshedpur all 3 points & continued his record of scoring all his goals this season in the 2nd half. This was after he had a poor game by his standards against FC Pune City where he managed just 1 shot in the entire game and had a mediocre Passing Accuracy of 62%.
RW: Thiago Santos (Mumbai City FC)
The Brazilian has grown into his own game by game this season and was one of the reasons why Mumbai City FC could manage their first ever comeback win. He managed to create a massive 9 chances against FC Goa and was also lethal in front of goal with a goal and an assist to his name. He would be looking forward to playing against Jamshedpur in their next game after scoring a brace against them when these sides last met.
AM: Deependra Singh Negi (Kerala Blasters FC)
The 19-year-old became the youngest goalscorer this season when he flicked on a Jackichand Singh corner to bring Kerala Blasters back in the game, & in the process, also became the youngest goalscorer for the Kerala Blasters in ISL. He then caused enough problems to the Delhi back line before earning a crucial penalty which was slotted home by Iain Hume.
LW: Marcelinho (FC Pune City)
If we have to pick one player that has consistently performed since the last season,it will have to be Marcelinho. After winning the golden boot last season, he has never looked out of touch, and it was his deliveries that were pounced on by Gurtej Singh & Emiliano Alfaro. With this, he has now taken his assists tally to 7 this season, the most among all players.
CF: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
After having a disastrous season for Mumbai City FC in the ISL last season, the Indian Captain has silenced his critics in the perfect manner this season, scoring 8 goals, only Miku(9) & Coro(12) have managed more. He was on song against the Highlanders, managing 4 shots in the entire game.
CF: Ferran Corominas (FC Goa)
The sensational Coro continued his fine form this season as he scored a brace helping the 10 men of Goa put up a tough fight against Mumbai City FC. He has now taken his tally of goals to 12 for the season, only Stiven Mendoza (in ISL 2015) has scored more goals in an ISL season than Coro.