Top 3 defenses in season two of the Indian Super League
Attack wins you matches, but defence wins you titles, this famous quote of Sir Alex Ferguson has time and again been proven right. Last season’s Atletico de Kolkata’s success was built on strong defensive displays throughout the tournament which made them such a difficult team to beat.This ISL season has seen a lot more goals and defences have in general had a tougher time dealing with opposition forwards as clean sheets have been quite evenly distributed across all the teams.With the league stage of the ISL having finished, we take a look back at the three best defences in the league. And to no one’s real surprise, all of those teams have made it to the semi-finals of the ISL this season.Here are the three best defenses in the ISL:
#3 Delhi Dynamos - 20 goals conceded
Delhi Dynamos are the only new team in the last four this season and it is pretty much down to a solid defence which Roberto Carlos has managed to put together in Delhi.
The Dynamos have been very hard to beat this season and have only lost four games. Having conceded only twenty goals, the team from the capital are this season’s third-best defence in the league.
This season has seen the meteoric rise of Indian centre-back Anas Edathodika, who has cemented his place at the heart of the Delhi Dynamos defence with some truly wonderful performances. His partnership with former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise has received much praise and Anas' rise allowed Roberto Carlos to push Chicao into midfield.
Another player who impressed was right-back Souvik Chakraborty, who was a regular in the Delhi Dynamos defence with the Dynamos actually struggling in his absence recently.
Adinga, primarily a midfielder, was used at left-back in most games by Roberto Carlos and the lad from the Northeast caught everyone’s eye and earned great praise from his manager.
Carlos shuffled his pack quite a lot and the likes of Anwar Ali, Naoba Singh and Chicao also effortlessly slotted into the Dynamos defence when called into action. Delhi's defensive ability makes them a dangerous proposition in the knock-out matches and FC Goa will have to be wary of them despite their recent success against them.