ISL 2022-23: Who tops Khel Now’s Power Rankings in Phase 5?

The final list for the season has only one Indian player.

We are back with the Khel Now Power Rankings. For the last few seasons, we have been successfully identifying the 10 best performers throughout the course of the league campaign through our Power Rankings. This season too, we are doing the same for the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season.

You are aware of the rules by now – but here’s a quick brush-up. For every ISL game, our respective correspondents and editors rank the three best-performing players from the match in order. The player ranked at the top of the list is awarded five points, the player finishing second earns three points, and the one at the bottom (third place) is given one point.

These points are carried forward for every player involved in the league, once he’s chosen by our team. Eventually, the total number of points that they accumulate will decide their final position on the leaderboard at the end of the season. The Khel Now Power Rankings will be published in a series of five articles as we have divided the league into five equal phases of 22 games each. This article includes the top-10 rankings after the completion of the league phase of ISL 2022-23. Thus, this is the final list of players who topped Khel Now's power rankings list of the season.

Note: The last phase of the 2022-23 ISL league season began on February 4 with NorthEast United FC locking horns with Jamshedpur FC in their own backyard in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. The phase ended on February 26, after the last league game of the season between Kerala Blasters FC and Hyderabad FC in Kochi.

10. Hugo Boumous (ATK Mohun Bagan) – 24 points

Hugo Boumous has played an instrumental role in taking ATK Mohun Bagan to the playoffs. Despite being absent for a certain period due to an injury, he is the second-highest assist provider for the Green and Maroons with four assists from 16 games. He is also the second-highest goal scorer for his side with four goals. Moreover, he created 47 chances throughout the league, the second-highest for any player.

A fully fit Boumous is a dangerous player to deal with on the pitch. Going into the playoffs, especially in the absence of a proper number 9, Juan Ferrando would like his ace attacking midfielder to make significant attacking contributions to qualify for the final.

9. Javi Hernandez (Bengaluru FC) – 24 points

Javi played a pivotal role in Bengaluru's resurgence in the second half of the league. He scored six goals and provided five assists in 18 games. He has been in top form in the final third of the pitch, even when his team was going through a bad form. His combination play with Roy Krishna and Sivasakhti proved to be a game-changer for Simon Grayson's side, which is currently on an eight-game winning streak.

Javi's ability to maintain his form will be crucial for the Blues to do well in the playoffs. With Sunil Chhetri back to scoring, it will be interesting to see how Grayson deploys his troops in the playoffs whereby Javi will play the role of the team's midfield fulcrum.

8. Jorge Pereyra Diaz (Mumbai City FC) – 24 points

Jorge Pereyra Diaz is the second-highest goal-scorer at the end of the league stage with 11 goals from 18 games. The striker has been in scintillating form throughout the season. He adapted extremely well to Buckingham's system to combine with the likes of Chhangte and Bipin Singh to run havoc in the opponent's defensive third. Consequently, he played a very crucial role in Mumbai's dominant league triumph. Buckingham will want him to continue with his goal-scoring run and create problems for their playoff opponents.

7. Dimitri Petratos (ATK Mohun Bagan) – 25 points

Dimitri Petratos proved to be the sole proper attacking option for the Mariners this season. While ATK Mohun Bagan scored only 24 goals in their 20 games, Petratos alone scored nine of them from 19 games. He scored in both the Kolkata Derbies and in many crucial moments to make his team finish third on the points table. In addition, he is the player who created the highest number of chances in the league stage with 51. While the side has faced widespread criticism for not having a proper number 9, Petratos has been a silver lining who is trying to do his best to get as many goals as possible for his side.

6. Noah Sadaoui (FC Goa) – 26 points

One of the best signings of the season who will be missed in the playoffs is Noah Sadaoui. Noah has been a revelation for FC Goa on their left wing. He is the highest assist provider in the league stage with nine assists from 20 games. He has also scored the same number of goals from the same number of games to take his overall goal contribution to 18. With FC Goa missing out on a playoff berth, there is no doubt that fans will be missing Noah's intricate touches, runs, passes, and finishes on the left wing.

5. Bartholomew Ogbeche (Hyderabad FC) – 27 points

Bartholomew Ogbeche, yet again, is the highest goal-scorer for Hyderabad FC at the conclusion of the league season. Despite having a mixed season, he has scored 10 goals from 19 games. A striker with a strong physique, Ogbeche has been one of the driving forces of Hyderabad FC that allowed the Nizams to finish second in the league table. He scored a hattrick against FC Goa and scored many of the other goals at crucial moments to keep Hyderabad in the top-of-the-table race till very late.

4. Dimitrios Diamantakos (Kerala Blasters FC) – 28 points

A great addition to the ISL 2022-23 has been Dimitrios Diamantakos. He is the highest goal-scorer for his side with 10 goals from 20 games. He has been a principal fulcrum in Kerala Blasters' qualification for the playoffs. It was not easy for any player to fill in the shoes of Alvaro Vasquez, but Diamantakos came on to the occasion very well to provide options to his side's attacking third.

He adapted extremely well to Vukomanovic's system and combined well with the likes of Adrain Luna and Apostolos Giannou to create numerous problems for opposition teams. Hence, going into the playoffs, Vukomanovic would like his ace striker to continue with his scoring run.

3. Lallianzuala Chhangte (Mumbai City FC) – 29 points

The only Indian footballer to feature in this list is Lallianzuala Chhangte. It has been a dream season for him in which he has scored 10 goals from 20 games. He is the second-highest goal scorer for his side, trailing Pereyra Diaz by only a solitary goal. The former Chennaiyin FC footballer ran havoc on Mumbai's right wing throughout the league stage. His combination play with Diaz and Bipin Singh kept opposition defenders on their toes, which the side took advantage of well to score the highest number of goals, 54.

2. Cleiton Silva (East Bengal FC) – 30 points

The brightest spot in a bleak ISL 2022-23 season for East Bengal has been their ace striker Cleiton Silva. Cleiton is one of the joint-highest goal scorers in the league with 12 goals to his name from 20 games. He is the only player in this list from a team that finished in the bottom half of the league table. This fact alone is enough to make us understand how good he was throughout the league.

He scored many crucial goals including a few braces. Despite not getting much support from his teammates, he kept opposition defenders on their toes in every game. Hence, going forward, there is no doubt that East Bengal would be keen to gather their troops around Cleiton for the upcoming tournaments and season.

1. Greg Stewart (Mumbai City) – 30 points

The pole position is occupied by another Mumbai City FC player, Greg Stewart. Similar to the last season, this season too, Greg Stewart is slated to be one of the contenders for the player of the season award. He played in 19 games and scored seven goals, made seven assists, and created 44 chances. These facts show us the impact that he has had in Mumbai City this season's league campaign. He has been the main fulcrum in the Islanders' midfield. Hence, his performance in the business end of the league will be extremely crucial if the team from Mumbai wants to repeat what they did in the 20-21 season.