2020–21 Indian Super League
7th season of the Hero Indian Super League
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The 2020–21 Indian Super League season was the seventh season of the Indian Super League (ISL) since its formation and the 25th season of the top division of the Indian football league system. The season started on 20 November 2020 and ended on 13 March 2021. It was hosted behind closed doors across three venues in Goa due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Season2020–21
Dates20 November 2020 – 13 March 2021
ChampionsMumbai City
1st ISL Cup title
1st Indian title
1st ISL Cup title
1st Indian title
League Winners' ShieldMumbai City
1st ISL Shield title
1st ISL Shield title
League announcement poster | |
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 November 2020 – 13 March 2021 |
| Champions | Mumbai City 1st ISL Cup title 1st Indian title |
| League Winners' Shield | Mumbai City 1st ISL Shield title |
| AFC Champions League | Mumbai City |
| AFC Cup | Mohun Bagan |
| Matches | 115 |
| Goals | 298 (2.59 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Igor Angulo Roy Krishna (14 goals each) |
| Best goalkeeper | Arindam Bhattacharya (108.95 mins per goal) |
| Biggest home win | Hyderabad 4–0 Kerala Blasters (16 February 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Odisha 1–6 Mumbai City (24 February 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Odisha 6–5 East Bengal (27 February 2021) |
| Longest winning run | Mohun Bagan (5 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Goa (15 games) |
| Longest winless run | Odisha (10 games) |
| Longest losing run | Bengaluru, Odisha (4 games) |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
Mumbai City won the trophy, having defeated Mohun Bagan in the final, and also won the League Winners Shield. Thus, Mumbai City became the first club to win, both, the ISL trophy, and League Winners Shield, within the same season.[1]
Changes from last season
- Each club had the option of signing a minimum of five and a maximum of seven foreign players. Still, unlike the previous season, there should be at least one overseas player who hails from an AFC–affiliated country.
- The maximum squad size was increased as the clubs were allowed to register up to 35 players in their squad.[2]
- The number of substitutions allowed, was increased from 3 players to 5 players.[3]
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches during the 2020–21 season was played behind closed doors across three venues in Goa.[4] The venues were the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, and Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama.[5] The host venues for each team were revealed on 18 August 2020.[6]
- In June–July 2020, KGSPL, the owners of ATK, officially disbanded their football team and bought a majority stake in Mohun Bagan FC (India) Private Limited and rebranded Mohun Bagan football section as ATK Mohun Bagan which took the spot of ATK
- On 27 September 2020, East Bengal joined the league as an expansion team and thus became the 11th team.[7]
- Since all the matches were played in neutral venues, there was no away goal rule applied in the playoffs this season.[8]
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Kolkata
Locations of the Indian Super League teams
| Team | Location | Host venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATK Mohun Bagan | Kolkata, West Bengal | Fatorda Stadium[6] | 18,600 |
| Bengaluru | Bangalore, Karnataka | ||
| Goa | Margao, Goa | ||
| Chennaiyin | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | GMC Athletic Stadium[6] | 3,000 |
| Kerala Blasters | Kochi, Kerala | ||
| Mumbai City | Mumbai, Maharashtra | ||
| Odisha | Bhubaneswar, Odisha | ||
| SC East Bengal | Kolkata, West Bengal | Tilak Maidan Stadium[6][9] | 5,000 |
| Hyderabad | Hyderabad, Telangana | ||
| Jamshedpur | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand | ||
| NorthEast United | Guwahati, Assam |
Locations of the stadiums in Goa
Personnel and sponsorship
| Team | Head coach | Captain(s) | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATK Mohun Bagan |  Antonio López Habas[10] |
Nivia[12][13] | SBOTOP[14] | |
| Bengaluru |  Naushad Moosa (interim head coach)[15] |
Sunil Chhetri[16] |
Puma[17] | JSW[18] |
| Chennaiyin |  Csaba László[19] |
 Rafael Crivellaro[20] |
Performax | Apollo Tyres[21] |
| East Bengal |  Robbie Fowler[22] |
 Danny Fox[23] |
TYKA[24] | Shree Cement[25] |
| Goa | Juan Ferrando[26] |
Edu Bedia[27] |
SIX5SIX[28] | Indinews[29] |
| Hyderabad | Manuel Roca[30] |
Aridane Santana |
T10 Sports | Andslite |
| Jamshedpur | Owen Coyle[31] |
Peter Hartley[32] |
Nivia[33] | Tata Steel[34] |
| Kerala Blasters | Ishfaq Ahmed (interim head coach) |
Reyaur Sports[36] | BYJU'S[37] | |
| Mumbai City | Sergio Lobera[38] |
Amrinder Singh[39] |
Puma[40] | DafaNews[41] |
| NorthEast United | Khalid Jamil (Interim head coach)[42] |
Performax | JA Entertainment[43] | |
| Odisha |  Gerry Peyton (Interim head coach) |
Steven Taylor |
T10 Sports[44] | Odisha Tourism[45] |
- Coach Habas announced five players will be given the captain's armband in rotation.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Ref. | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kerala Blasters |  Eelco Schattorie |
Sacked | 22 April 2020 | [46] | Pre-season | Kibu Vicuña |
23 April 2020 | [47] |
| Goa | Clifford Miranda |
End of interim period | 30 April 2020 | [48] | Juan Ferrando |
30 April 2020 | [26] | |
| Hyderabad | Xavier Gurri López |
1 June 2020 | [49] | Albert Roca |
1 June 2020 | [50] | ||
| Odisha | Josep Gombau |
Mutual consent | 18 March 2020 | [51] | Stuart Baxter |
19 June 2020 | [52] | |
| Jamshedpur | Antonio Iriondo |
End of contract | 31 May 2020 | [53] | Owen Coyle |
7 August 2020 | [31] | |
| NorthEast United | Khalid Jamil |
End of the interim period | 25 August 2020 | [54] | Gerard Nus |
25 August 2020 | [42] | |
| Chennaiyin | Owen Coyle |
End of contract | 14 March 2020 | [55] | Csaba László |
30 August 2020 | [19] | |
| Hyderabad | Albert Roca |
Mutual consent | 29 August 2020 | [50] | Manuel Roca |
31 August 2020 | [30] | |
| Mumbai City |  Jorge Costa |
End of contract | 5 March 2020 | [56] | Sergio Lobera |
12 October 2020 | [38] | |
| Bengaluru | Carles Cuadrat |
Mutual consent | 6 January 2021 | [57] | 5th | Naushad Moosa |
6 January 2021 | [57] |
| NorthEast United | Gerard Nus |
Sacked | 12 January 2021 | [58] | 7th | Khalid Jamil |
12 January 2021 | [58] |
| Odisha | Stuart Baxter |
Sacked | 2 February 2021 | [59] | 11th | Gerry Peyton |
3 February 2021 | [60] |
| Kerala Blasters | Kibu Vicuna |
Sacked | 17 February 2021 | [61] | 9th | Ishfaq Ahmed |
17 February 2021 | [62] |
Roster changes
Foreign players
Bold letters suggest the player was signed in the winter transfer window.
Regular season
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mumbai City (L, C) | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 18 | +17 | 40 | Qualification to ISL playoffs and 2022 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | ATK Mohun Bagan[a] | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 15 | +13 | 40 | Qualification to ISL playoffs and 2022 AFC Cup play-off round |
| 3 | NorthEast United | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 33 | Qualification to ISL playoffs |
| 4 | Goa | 20 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 31 | |
| 5 | Hyderabad | 20 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 29 | |
| 6 | Jamshedpur | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 27 | |
| 7 | Bengaluru | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 22 | |
| 8 | Chennaiyin | 20 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 23 | −6 | 20 | |
| 9 | East Bengal | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 17 | |
| 10 | Kerala Blasters | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 36 | −13 | 17 | |
| 11 | Odisha | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 12 |
Source: Indian Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (L) League Winners' Shield Winners
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (L) League Winners' Shield Winners
Notes:
- As the Premiers Mumbai City won the ISL playoffs, the regular season runners-up qualified for 2022 AFC Cup play-off round.
Results
Playoffs
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 1 | Mumbai City (p) | 2 | 0 | 2 (6) | |||||||
| 4 | Goa | 2 | 0 | 2 (5) | |||||||
| 1 | Mumbai City | 2 | |||||||||
| 2 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | NorthEast United | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai City | 2–2 (6–5 p) | Goa | 2–2 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
| ATK Mohun Bagan | 3–2 | NorthEast United | 1–1 | 2–1 |
Final
| Mumbai City | 2–1 | ATK Mohun Bagan |
|---|---|---|
Tiri  29' (o.g.)B. Singh  90' |
Report | Williams 18' |
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Igor Angulo |
Goa | 14 |
 Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan | ||
| 3 | Adam Le Fondre |
Mumbai City | 11 |
| 4 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad | 10 |
| 5 |  Bartholomew Ogbeche |
Mumbai City | 8 |
 Nerijus Valskis |
Jamshedpur | ||
| Sunil Chhetri |
Bengaluru | ||
| 8 |  Jordan Murray |
Kerala Blasters | 7 |
| Diego Mauricio |
Odisha | ||
| Luís Machado |
NorthEast United | ||
| Source:[63] | |||
Top Indian scorers
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| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunil Chhetri | Bengaluru | 8 |
| 2 | Manvir Singh | ATK Mohun Bagan | 6 |
| Bipin Singh | Mumbai City | ||
| 4 | Ishan Pandita | Goa | 4 |
| Halicharan Narzary | Hyderabad | ||
| Lallianzuala Chhangte | Chennaiyin | ||
| 7 | Rahul KP | Kerala Blasters | 3 |
| V.P. Suhair | NorthEast United | ||
| 9 | Paul Ramfangzauva | Odisha | 2 |
| Anirudh Thapa | Chennaiyin | ||
| Liston Colaco | Hyderabad | ||
| Rahim Ali | Chennaiyin | ||
| Jerry Mawihmingthanga | Odisha | ||
| Rowllin Borges | Mumbai City | ||
| Source:[63] | |||
Hat-tricks
- Result column shows goal tally of player's team first.
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bipin Singh | Mumbai City | Odisha | 6–1 (A) | 24 February 2021 | [64] |
- Notes
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team
Assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Noguera |
Goa | 8 |
| Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan | ||
| 3 |  Hugo Boumous |
Mumbai City | 7 |
| 4 |  Federico Gallego |
NorthEast United | 6 |
| Aitor Monroy |
Jamshedpur | ||
| 6 | Jerry Mawihmingthanga |
Odisha | 5 |
 Ahmed Jahouh |
Mumbai City | ||
| 8 | Gary Hooper |
Kerala Blasters | 4 |
| Alexander Jesuraj |
Goa | ||
| Cleiton Silva |
Bengaluru | ||
| Bipin Singh |
Mumbai City | ||
| Source:[65] | |||
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amrinder Singh |
Mumbai City | 10 |
| Arindam Bhattacharya |
ATK Mohun Bagan | ||
| 3 | Rehenesh TP |
Jamshedpur | 8 |
| 4 | Laxmikant Kattimani |
Hyderabad | 6 |
| Vishal Kaith |
Chennaiyin | ||
| 6 | Gurpreet Singh |
Bengaluru | 4 |
| 7 | Subhasish Roy |
NorthEast United | 3 |
| Albino Gomes |
Kerala Blasters | ||
| 9 | Gurmeet Singh |
NorthEast United | 2 |
| Dheeraj Singh |
Goa | ||
| Subrata Pal |
East Bengal | ||
| Debjit Majumder |
East Bengal | ||
| Source:[66] | |||
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 8[67]
Pronay Halder (ATK Mohun Bagan)
Erik Paartalu (Bengaluru)
- Most red cards: 2[68]
Ahmed Jahouh (Mumbai City)
Club
Awards
Hero of the Match
| Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | |||
| Match 1 | Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 40 | Jeakson Singh |
Kerala Blasters | Match 78 | Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Match 2 |  Khassa Camara |
NorthEast United | Match 41 | Rehenesh TP |
Jamshedpur | Match 79 | Seiminlen Doungel |
Jamshedpur |
| Match 3 | Igor Angulo |
Goa | Match 42 | Arindam Bhattacharya |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 80 | Sunil Chhetri |
Bengaluru |
| Match 4 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad | Match 43 | Igor Angulo |
Goa | Match 81 | Amrinder Singh |
Mumbai City |
| Match 5 | Anirudh Thapa |
Chennaiyin | Match 44 | Amrinder Singh |
Mumbai City | Match 82 | Federico Gallego |
NorthEast United |
| Match 6 | Adam Le Fondre |
Mumbai City | Match 45 | Anthony Pilkington |
East Bengal | Match 83 | Gurpreet Singh |
Bengaluru |
| Match 7 | Dylan Fox |
NorthEast United | Match 46 | Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 84 | Manvir Singh |
ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Match 8 | Carl McHugh |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 47 | Halicharan Narzary |
Hyderabad | Match 85 |  Matti Steinmann |
East Bengal |
| Match 9 | Chinglensana Singh |
Hyderabad | Match 48 | Bipin Singh |
Mumbai City | Match 86 | Lalengmawia |
NorthEast United |
| Match 10 | Diego Maurício |
Odisha | Match 49 | Bright Enobakhare |
East Bengal | Match 87 | Rowllin Borges |
Mumbai City |
| Match 11 | Albino Gomes |
Kerala Blasters | Match 50 | Diego Maurício |
Odisha | Match 88 | Marcelinho Leite Pereira |
ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Match 12 | Lalengmawia |
NorthEast United | Match 51 | Joel Chianese |
Hyderabad | Match 89 | Stephen Eze |
Jamshedpur |
| Match 13 | Hugo Boumous |
Mumbai City | Match 52 | Debjit Majumder |
East Bengal | Match 90 | Diego Mauricio |
Odisha |
| Match 14 | Mohammad Yasir |
Hyderabad | Match 53 | Lallianzuala Chhangte |
Chennaiyin | Match 91 | Akash Mishra |
Hyderabad |
| Match 15 | Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 54 | Jordan Murray |
Kerala Blasters | Match 92 | Ishan Pandita |
Goa |
| Match 16 | Suresh Singh Wangjam |
Bengaluru | Match 55 | Bartholomew Ogbeche |
Mumbai City | Match 93 | Federico Gallego |
NorthEast United |
| Match 17 |  Benjamin Lambot |
NorthEast United | Match 56 | Lalengmawia |
NorthEast United | Match 94 | Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Match 18 | Rowllin Borges |
Mumbai City | Match 57 | Anirudh Thapa |
Chennaiyin | Match 95 | Sunil Chhetri |
Bengaluru |
| Match 19 | Lenny Rodrigues |
Goa | Match 58 | Naveen Kumar |
Goa | Match 96 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad |
| Match 20 | Nerijus Valskis |
Jamshedpur | Match 59 | Sahal |
Kerala Blasters | Match 97 | Iván González |
Goa |
| Match 21 | Luís Machado |
NorthEast United | Match 60 | Hitesh Sharma |
Hyderabad | Match 98 | Lallianzuala Chhangte |
Chennaiyin |
| Match 22 |  Mourtada Fall |
Mumbai City | Match 61 | Federico Gallego |
NorthEast United | Match 99 | Roy Krishna |
ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Match 23 | Mohammed Irshad |
East Bengal | Match 62 | Saviour Gama |
Goa | Match 100 | Farukh Choudhary |
Jamshedpur |
| Match 24 | Liston Colaco |
Hyderabad | Match 63 | Debjit Majumder |
East Bengal | Match 101 | Glan Martins |
Goa |
| Match 25 | Jorge Ortiz |
Goa | Match 64 |  Cole Alexander |
Odisha | Match 102 | Lallianzuala Chhangte |
Chennaiyin |
| Match 26 | Khassa Camara |
NorthEast United | Match 65 | Rahul K P |
Kerala Blasters | Match 103 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad |
| Match 27 | Dimas Delgado |
Bengaluru | Match 66 | David Williams |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 104 | V.P. Suhair |
NorthEast United |
| Match 28 | Peter Hartley |
Jamshedpur | Match 67 | Mourtada Fall |
Mumbai City | Match 105 | Bipin Singh |
Mumbai City |
| Match 29 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad | Match 68 | Sandeep Singh |
Kerala Blasters | Match 106 | Aitor Monroy |
Jamshedpur |
| Match 30 | Carl McHugh |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 69 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad | Match 107 | Lalengmawia |
NorthEast United |
| Match 31 | Cleiton Silva |
Bengaluru | Match 70 | Cleiton Silva |
Bengaluru | Match 108 | Paul Ramfangzauva |
Odisha |
| Match 32 | Peter Hartley |
Jamshedpur | Match 71 | Amey Ranawade |
Mumbai City | Match 109 | Adil Khan |
Goa |
| Match 33 | Rafael Crivellaro |
Chennaiyin | Match 72 | Federico Gallego |
NorthEast United | Match 110 | Mourtada Fall |
Mumbai City |
| Match 34 | Ahmed Jahouh |
Mumbai City | Match 73 | Sahal |
Kerala Blasters | Match 111 (SF) | Jorge Ortiz |
Goa |
| Match 35 | Anthony Pilkington |
East Bengal | Match 74 | Aridane Santana |
Hyderabad | Match 112 (SF) | Gurjinder Kumar |
NorthEast United |
| Match 36 | David Williams |
ATK Mohun Bagan | Match 75 | Bright Enobakhare |
East Bengal | Match 113 (SF) | Iván González |
Goa |
| Match 37 | Cole Alexander |
Odisha | Match 76 |  Deshorn Brown |
NorthEast United | Match 114 (SF) | Manvir Singh |
ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Match 38 | Jorge Ortiz |
Goa | Match 77 | Asish Rai |
Hyderabad | Match 115 (F) | Bipin Singh |
Mumbai City |
| Match 39 | Matti Steinmann |
East Bengal | Source:[71] | |||||
Season awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Hero of the League | Roy Krishna | ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Golden Boot | Igor Angulo | Goa |
| Golden Glove | Arindam Bhattacharya | ATK Mohun Bagan |
| Winning Pass of the League | Alberto Noguera | Goa |
| Emerging Player of the League | Lalengmawia | NorthEast United |