Top five talking points from Calcutta Football League Gameweek 6

The Mariners have already won the competition, but the relegation battle is still ongoing.

The Calcutta Football League title race is now officially over, with Mohun Bagan being crowned champions after their win against Calcutta Customs on Wednesday. The Mariners lifted their 30th CFL title after a terrific season, in which they were above everyone else in the league.

Despite the title being wrapped up, there are still many things to play for many teams in the CFL, including a top-four finish and the relegation battle. So, let's have a look at the talking points from the week:

5. Who will survive the relegation battle?

While the race at the top of the Calcutta Football League might be wrapped up, the relegation battle is nearing its feisty final stages, with FCI, Tollygunge Agragami and West Bengal Police looking set for the drop.

Agragami’s drop would be the most surprising knowing their reputation in the league and they need to win their next two matches (one of which is against Mohammedan Sporting) and hope George Telegraph and Pathachakra lose all their remaining matches. Telegraph and Pathachakra only need a win each to avoid the drop and with multiple games remaining, they will look to produce a late surge to make sure they’re in the CFL next season as well.

4. Mohammedan Sporting’s inspired win gives them boost needed for a late surge

Mohammedan Sporting sunk East Bengal’s CFL dreams with a stunning win over their cross-city rivals at the Salt Lake stadium earlier this week, which was their first win over Bengal in years. Despite going behind in the early minutes, Mohammedan looked in control for most of the game and played some dangerous, attacking football throughout. In the end, it was substitute Phillip Adjah who scored a dazzling brace and introduced himself to Kolkata football in style.

This emphatic win gives the players a much-needed boost in confidence and with three games still to go, the sky’s the limit as the Black Panthers aim to thwart the undefeated Mohun Bagan in their late push for a top-three finish.

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3. Peerless seeking a sneaky top-two finish

The attention has been diverted so much towards Mohun Bagan and East Bengal during the CFL title race, that many have ignored the great work which Peerless SC have come up with this season.

Inspired by a resurgent Ansumana Kromah, Peerless shocked East Bengal and dampened their CFL dreams last week and will look to do something similar when it comes to a top-two finish. Bengal are currently on 20 points and can only get to 23 with a win, while Peerless are sitting on 19 points with two games to go. Their form and momentum make it possible for them to oust their remaining opponents, as Kromah will look to bang in more goals to make sure Peerless finish the season in a highly impressive second place.

2. Can Alejandro Menendez inspire the best out of underperforming Johnny Acosta?

East Bengal seem to be in complete disarray since dropping points in the Kolkata Derby, as the introduction of the underperforming Johnny Acosta has actually done more harm than good for them so far. Acosta does not look comfortable playing in the rough Kolkata conditions at all and the poor condition of the pitches don’t help his case either.

The Costa Rican needs someone like new manager Alejandro Menendez to get back to form and the introduction of Borja Perez will also help him. Acosta will be more comfortable playing under Menendez and in the I-league, where the pitch conditions will be much better. The I-League should help fade away some of his issues, but Acosta’s improvement depends on how well he can adapt to Menendez’s system and form a bond with Perez to solve East Bengal’s and his own defensive frailties.

1. Mohun Bagan deserved champions after a long drought

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Mohun Bagan redeemed their crushing loss in the Calcutta Football League championship last season by winning it with a game in hand this time around and nobody can deny that they deserved it. Despite starting the campaign slowly, Sankarlal Chakraborty’s men showed a champions' mentality throughout the season by pulling off wins. They took some time to get going, but when they did, the Mariners looked absolutely unstoppable with their terrorizing attacking giving nightmares to defenders all around.

They not only managed to create a large goal-difference superiority from Bengal, but saw their rivals crumble under their pressure in the end. Bagan have every right to celebrate their 30th CFL title win for a long time now and will look to finish off their season in style next week against Mohammedan Sporting.