ISL TOTW 8: Rahul Bheke, Ricky Lallawmawma the shining stars in the league

The league experienced some exciting gameplay throughout the week.

The Indian Super League served up some exciting matches in the last week, with the playoffs race heating up with some interesting results. While Bengaluru FC further consolidated their position at the top with two crucial wins, especially against FC Goa, some other results had repercussions to the league table. Among the thrilling results, there were some especially good performances from the Indian players who helped their team attain results with their work in the field. Here’s our ISL Team for Gameweek 8.

Passi leads the line as a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation

Goalkeeper: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC)

Coming off a stumbling performance against Jordan, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had much to prove. Sandhu displayed a decent performance against FC Goa to help contain the threat. However, he came up to the task against the dangerous Delhi Dynamos. Gurpreet made six saves against Delhi, most importantly a one-on-one opportunity against Lallianzuala Chhangte where he kept himself strong. Sandhu earned his clean-sheet and the win for Bengaluru to help them maintain their perfect run.

Right-Back: Rahul Bheke (Bengaluru FC)

“Bhekenbauer” as he’s been named, the Bengaluru right-back was superb against FC Goa’s threat. Not only did he defend well, making two tackles and three interceptions, but he also showed great vigour in the attack. Bheke scored a sublime goal to help Bengaluru get the lead and get control of the game. Bheke continued his great work against Delhi Dynamos, making seven clearances and playing a big role in attaining a clean-sheet for his side.

Center-Back: Gurtej Singh (FC Pune City)

Gurtej displayed yet another commendable account of himself against the attacking threat of Jamshedpur FC and helped the Stallions tame them. Gurtej was solid after a meek start and attained much dominance in defense after getting a foot-hold of the game. He made 10 important clearances in what was a busy game for him. Gurtej even made three important blocks and kept things tidy and allowed Pune to mount an impressive comeback.

Center-Back: Subhashish Bose (Mumbai City FC)

Subhashish continued to prove his mettle as one of Indian football’s best defender with a stunning display against ATK. He tamed the threat of Komal Thatal and completely neutralized ATK’s threat through the left. Bose made five tackles, eight clearances and a couple of interceptions and blocks in a highly hard-working effort. He deservedly won the Hero of the Match award for his heroics and earned another clean-sheet for the Islanders.

Left-Back: Ricky Lallawmawma (ATK)

The left-back had yet another solid showing for the Kolkata side and withered the storm of Arnold Issokko really well. He kept the dangerous right-winger contained throughout and marked him out of the game. Ricky did a fantastic job on his wing, making four tackles, seven clearances, and four interceptions to disable the Islanders from moving through his side. The former Mohun Bagan defender proved his strength in defending and earned another clean-sheet for ATK.

Center-Midfield: Rowllin Borges (NorthEast United FC)

Borges was a highly-industrial figure in the Highlanders midfield and provided hope for his side with his distribution and positivity. Borges acted as their midfield general to keep creating attacking moves and his 74% passing accuracy is proof of how lively he was. Borges made two tackles and was defensively pretty good, but his impact was felt late on. He provided the assist for Mascia to score the dramatic winner and helped the Highlanders script an incredible come-back.

Center-Midfield: Milan Singh (Mumbai City FC)

The energetic midfielder gave a bright showing to neutralize ATK’s threat through the middle and worked hard to frustrate Manuel Lanzarote as well. Milan accompanied his midfielders really well and could be seen everywhere in midfield looking to win back the ball. He dealt with Lanzarote and Pronoy Halder in the middle superbly and nullified their impact in the game. Milan ended with an impressive 83% passing accuracy, proving how great his distribution really was.

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Right-Wing: Udanta Singh (Bengaluru FC)

The Flash of Bengaluru FC swiped in to help earn them six crucial points and take a solid lead at the top. Udanta was under pressure to come up with goods and finally did in a big way, assisting Sunil Chhetri’s goal in the win over FC Goa. He continued his great work against Delhi Dynamos, giving an electric performance and scoring a stunning late winner to help earn all three points.

Center Attacking-Midfield: Brandon Fernandes (FC Goa)

Brandon proved why he should be a regular for the Gaurs with a really promising performance against Bengaluru FC. He did really well to find and capitalize on the loopholes in Bengaluru’s defense, with his movement and creativity really troubling the Blues. He scored a lucky goal when his shot deflected off Albert Serran to roll into the goal, but Brandon deserved it for his hard-working performance in which he gave his all to get a positive result for Goa.

Left-Wing: Ashique Kuruniyan (FC Pune City)

The electric winger was on song against Jamshedpur FC and gave a glittering performance to dazzle the fans. Ashique’s movement and pace terrorized Robin Gurung, who really struggled to keep him at bay. Kuruniyan moved with exciting vigor and got in a few brilliant crosses which couldn’t be capitalized by his team-mates. He might not have scored or assisted a goal, but Ashique’s hard-work and thunderous pace encouraged his team-mates and won him the Hero of the match award.

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Striker: Sumit Passi (Jamshedpur FC)

Sumit Passi was trusted to lead Jamshedpur FC’s line on both occasions last week and did so with much conviction. He started the game against Pune amazingly, scoring from close range 10 minutes into the game. Passi also gave a strong performance in the win over Chennaiyin FC, terrorizing them with his movement in the final third. Passi earned a penalty for his side against the defending champions and worked intelligently to enable his side to record a famous victory over them.