How Sahal Abdul Samad can be the wild card to help Mohun Bagan seal ISL shield?

Sahal Abdul Samad has only one assist for Mohun Bagan this season.

Sahal Abdul Samad is yet to tap into his best form for Mohun Bagan in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season despite resolving his fitness issues. The 27-year-old has only missed two matches for the Mariners due to injuries this season and seems to have worked hard to keep him available for the majority of the games.

Despite that, Sahal has only managed one assist in 15 ISL appearances this season. He’s mostly been played in a no.8 role in midfield, with his responsibilities being to win back possession and move the ball forward quickly. However, the India international is a versatile and very smart midfielder who can offer much more for Jose Molina for the remainder of the campaign.

With the Kolkata giants set to push to clinch the ISL league shield championship, a player like Sahal can be their ace in the hole. He has that unpredictability in his game to keep their playing style from becoming predictable or stale. Here are ways Sahal can be a major asset for Mohun Bagan in the final stretch of the campaign.

3. Help Mohun Bagan control matches more strongly

In their recent 1-0 win over Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan only had 36% of the ball possession and struggled to properly control the match. A vigilant midfielder like Sahal can ensure that kind of things don’t happen for the remainder of the matches.

Sahal excels at helping his side control the possession, as he can move the ball around with ease and also help regain possession swiftly. In his 15 ISL appearances this season, the 27-year-old has averaged over three possession recoveries and almost three duels won per 90 minutes for Mohun Bagan.

He’s got that energetic nature to press the opposition players sharply to quickly regain the ball. Sahal is also composed enough to be able to move the ball to the empty pockets and retain control of the midfield battle. If Mohun Bagan want to really dominate teams going forward, it’s time to give Sahal more playing time.

2. An extra goal-scoring option

A bit of an issue that has crept up onto Mohun Bagan is their lack of goals from the midfielders. The likes of Lalengmawia Ralte, Deepak Tangri, Abhishek Suryavanshi and Sahal have all failed to score a single goal so far. For Mohun Bagan to start scoring more goals, they can’t be only reliant on their forwards or set-pieces to get them rewards. Sahal might not have bagged a goal this season, but his goal-scoring prowess is well-known.

It’s time for Molina to give the 27-year-old more freedom to dart into the empty pockets of spaces in the final third to add an extra goal threat for the Mariners. Sahal is normally able to read his team’s attacking patterns really well and has the intelligence to dart into key goal-scoring positions too.

He just needs to be given more encouragement to sneak his way into the box and get at the end of attacking chances to enhance Mohun Bagan’s variety of goalscoring options. As long as he’s given the freedom to venture out of his central midfield position and use his clever off-the-ball movement to his advantage, Sahal can bag some important goals and lower the burden on those up front.

1. Lowers the creative burden on foreign players

He might have only managed one assist so far in the ISL campaign, but Sahal’s creative qualities are well-adored. The India international bagged four assists for Mohun Bagan last season. The reason for his struggling to get assists this season might be that he’s too intent on winning the midfield battles and simply moving the ball forward to the attacking players.

But to add another dimension to Mohun Bagan’s attack, Molina could tweak his system to allow a midfielder like Sahal to have a major creative responsibility. As long as allowed to move closer to the opposition’s box, the 27-year-old can cause trouble to their backline.

He has the qualities to play clever through balls to send his teammates onto the goal, while his smart link-up play can also lead to more significant chances. Sahal just needs the license to focus more on creating chances by taking risks with his forward passes than playing it safe.

He definitely has the qualities to create chances consistently, something which can ease the pressure on the likes of Greg Stewart, Jason Cummings or the wingers and allow them to get at the end of chances more often.

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