ISL 2022-23: Who topped Khel Now’s Power Rankings in phase 1?

Players of the attacking third dominate the list in the first phase.

Khel Now is happy to state to its readers that our flagship Khel Now Power Rankings is back for the new ISL 2022-23 season. In the last season, we identified the 10 best performers in the league throughout its course. This season also will be no different as we bring to you the 10 best performers of the league so far. By the end of the season, we will present to you the best 10 performers across the entire season. For that purpose, we have a specific methodology that considers the entire length of a season.

For every ISL fixture, our editors and respective correspondents rank the three best performers from the match in order. The top-ranked player is awarded five points, followed by three points and one point for players getting ranks two and three respectively. All these points are carried forward for each player throughout the league.

At the end of the season, the sum of all the points received by a player decides his final position in the leaderboard. The Khel Now Power Rankings will be published in a series of five articles, as we have decided to divide the league into five equal phases of 22 games each for the same. And this piece includes the rankings for phase 1 of ISL 2022-23!

Note: Phase 1 of the 2022-23 season began on October 7 with the season opener between Kerala Blasters and East Bengal. The phase ended on November 4, after the game between East Bengal and Chennaiyin FC.

8. Bipin Singh (Mumbai City FC) – 4 points

Bipin Singh began from where he ended last season. He has started all the games for Mumbai City and scored once against Odisha FC. Bipin has improved his game from last season and looks very good on the left side of Mumbai's attack. He is playing very well alongside Greg Stewart and Jorge Pereyra Díaz and causing many problems for opposition defenders.

In all of their games so far, he looked menacing and threatened to score in many instances. If Mumbai City want to move on from last season's disappointing end and find glory this season, it is prerogative for Bipin to continue his form. If he is able to do so and partner well with Stewart for the majority of the season, Mumbai will have a good chance to reach the playoffs.

8. Michael Jakobsen (NorthEast United FC) – 4 points

Michael Jakobsen has been one of the bright spots for NorthEast United in their bleak season so far. They had a disastrous start to the season and have lost all of their four games. Yet, Jakobsen's performance has been inspiring. He looks solid at the heart of NorthEast's defence. It is mainly due to a lack of support that his side has been conceding.

Jakobsen came to India with loads of experience playing in the Australian league system. This is evident from his gameplay as he is extremely good at reading situations, making tackles, and seems to be at the right place at the right time. The Highlanders would definitely want him to continue with his form and others to improve.

8. Adrian Luna (Kerala Blasters) – 4 points

Adrian Luna had a blistering start to the campaign when he scored the first goal of the season against East Bengal. He played brilliantly in that game like his whole team. However, since then, he has not been consistent enough. Still, he finds a mention in this list because of his performance in two games, one against East Bengal and the other against Odisha FC.

In both these games, he showed his quality and led to the creation of numerous chances. The Yellow Army fans will dearly want him to come back to his usual form before the season goes out of their hand.

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7. 16 players – 5 points each

There are currently 16 players at the seventh position with all of them tied on 5 points in the Khel Now Power Rankings for ISL 2022-23. The names of these footballers are as follows.

Romain Philippoteaux (NorthEast United FC), Kwame Karikari, Prasanth, and Vafa Hakhamaneshi (Chennaiyin FC), Diego Mauricio, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, and Saul Crespo (Odisha FC), Halicharan Narzary and Javier Siverio (Hyderabad FC), Dimitri Petratos and Hugo Boumous (ATK Mohun Bagan), Alberto Noguera and Mehtab Singh (Mumbai City FC), Dheeraj Singh (FC Goa), Daniel Chima Chukwu and Peter Hartley (Jamshedpur FC), and Charalambous Kyriakou (East Bengal). Each of them has five points so far.

5. Edu Bedia (FC Goa) – 6 points

It is no surprise that the midfield general of FC Goa is on this list. He has started all the games for the Gaurs so far and has played crucial roles in each of them. It was from his free kick through which FC Goa won their opening match against East Bengal with the last kick.

He has played an active role in all of their subsequent games by creating chances, making good runs, playing passes, and threading in through-balls for the side's strikers. After a disappointing last season, FC Goa would want to reach the playoffs this season. Edu Bedia will be highly impactful for such a quest.

5. Ivan Kalyuzhnyi (Kerala Blasters) – 6 points

The new entrant of Kerala Blasters, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, made headlines after the opening fixture of the season. He scored a brace in his first game in India to set the tone for how he is going to perform across the entirety of the league. So far, he has been the most consistent player for Kerala Blasters, who lost their plot to some extent after their opening win.

Kerala Blasters have won only one of their four games, but Kalyuzhnyi has been a bright spot for them. He is playing good football in Kerala's attacks and aiding the side well while going up. It is now to be seen if the Ukrainian can continue with his momentum to bring Kerala's season on track.

4. Jiteshwor Singh (Chennaiyin FC) – 7 points

Jiteshwor has perhaps been the biggest surprise of the league so far. He is a 20-year-old defensive midfielder from Manipur who is playing in the ISL for the first time. And yet, he has already made his mark in the midfield of Chennaiyin FC. He is proving to be highly impactful in front of Chennaiyin's backline in preventing the opposition's attacks from reaching their penalty box.

He had the highest number of touches, tackles, and passes in their game against East Bengal. His composure and on-field demeanour do not make him look like a 20-year-old person. Rather, he looks like a seasoned ISL midfielder. If he is able to continue in a similar manner throughout the league, the national team is not far.

2. Noah Sadaoui (FC Goa) – 8 points

The biggest surprise of this season so far has been Noah Sadaoui. He came on board with FC Goa at the beginning of the season. The fact that FC Goa coach Pena has the services of Alvaro Vazquez and still started a game with Noah in attack speaks volumes of what he has done in the league so far.

He seems to be the talisman for the Gaurs in the attacking third who looks threatening almost every time the ball goes to him. Consequently, he has scored two goals. Even though he needs to improve his composure in front of goal and finishing, he has already established himself to be a menace for opposition defenders.

Noah is adept at finding space behind defence backlines, making sharp runs, and also creating chances. Along with these, if his finishing gets better, it will become very difficult for defenders to keep him at bay.

2. Greg Stewart (Mumbai City FC) – 8 points

One of the biggest transfers in ISL this season was that of Greg Stewart. He was the Golden Ball winner last season and aided Jamshedpur FC to win the League Winners Shield. Mumbai City FC roped him in the transfer window to repeat his heroics. He has truly come to the occasion and is playing brilliantly for the Islanders.

Stewart is their main man in the attacking third who is primarily responsible for creating chances. Moreover, he is also taking the responsibility of converting them whenever asked by their coach. After a disappointing last season, Mumbai City FC will have high hopes from him this season and would want him to repeat what he did for Jamshedpur in the previous edition.

1. Bartholomew Ogbeche (Hyderabad FC) – 9 points

Bartholomew Ogbeche has undoubtedly been the most consistent player in the league so far. He has scored two goals for his side in four matches and created many chances. Riding on the back of his consistent performance, Hyderabad FC is currently on top of the table. He has proved to be the difference in two of four games of Hyderabad in which he scored.

The Golden Boot winner from last season is just one goal away from the pole position of goalscorers with two goals to his name. With his current form, there is no doubt that he will present a strong case to win this season's Golden Boot race.