The 2018–19 I-League was the 12th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 26 October 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2019.[2] Unlike the Indian Super League, the I-League did not take a mid-season break during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[2]
Season | 2018–19 |
---|---|
Champions | Chennai City 1st I-League title 1st Indian title[1] |
Relegated | Shillong Lajong |
AFC Champions League | Chennai City |
Matches played | 109 |
Goals scored | 303 (2.78 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Pedro Manzi Willis Plaza (21 goals) |
Biggest home win | Real Kashmir 6–1 Shillong Lajong (11 December 2018)Chennai City 6–1 Shillong Lajong (29 December 2018) East Bengal 5-0 Shillong Lajong (14 February 2019) |
Biggest away win | Mohun Bagan 0–3 Churchill Brothers (25 November 2018)Shillong Lajong 0–3 Indian Arrows (13 January 2019) |
Highest scoring | Real Kashmir 6–1 Shillong Lajong (11 December 2018) Chennai City 6–1 Shillong Lajong (29 December 2018) Chennai City 4–3 Aizawl (18 January 2019) |
Longest winning run | Chennai City, East Bengal (4 games) |
Longest unbeaten run | Real Kashmir (13 games) |
Longest winless run | Shillong Lajong (11 games) |
Longest losing run | Shillong Lajong (5 games) |
Highest attendance | 64,867 East Bengal 3–2 Mohun Bagan (16 December 2018) |
Lowest attendance | 100 Indian Arrows 0–2 Chennai City (8 February 2019) |
Total attendance | 1,114,349 |
Average attendance | 10,223 |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → All statistics correct as of 9 March 2019. |
Minerva Punjab was the defending champions having won the previous season. Real Kashmir joined as a promoted club from the I-League 2nd Division. Churchill Brothers, having been relegated the previous season, were given an exemption by the All India Football Federation for this season.
Chennai City FC were the champions for this season, winning the title on the last day.[3] This was their first title win in the history of the club. The top scorer in the league was Chennai City FC's Pedro Manzi, who finished the season with 21 goals.[4]
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Personnel and sponsorship
Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|---|
Aizawl | ![]() | Vamos | NECS Limited |
Chennai City | ![]() | Penalty | Nippon Paint |
Churchill Brothers | ![]() | Nivia | Churchill Group |
East Bengal | ![]() | Perf | Quess Corp |
Gokulam Kerala | ![]() | Kaizen | Aqualine |
Indian Arrows | ![]() | Nike | Hero |
Minerva Punjab | ![]() | Astro | Apollo Tyres |
Mohun Bagan | ![]() | Shiv Naresh | None |
NEROCA | ![]() | Sqad Gear | Classic Group |
Real Kashmir | ![]() | Adidas | J&K Bank |
Shillong Lajong | ![]() | Lotto | McDowell's No.1 |
Head coaching changes
Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chennai City | ![]() | Contract finished | Pre-season | ![]() | 20 March 2018[5] |
Aizawl | ![]() | Contract finished | ![]() | 6 June 2018[6] | |
NEROCA | ![]() | Contract finished | ![]() | 6 July 2018[7] | |
Indian Arrows | ![]() | Contract finished | ![]() | 25 July 2018[8] | |
Minerva Punjab | ![]() | Contract finished | ![]() | 9 August 2018[9] | |
East Bengal | ![]() | Mutual consent | ![]() | 20 August 2018[10] | |
Mohun Bagan | ![]() | Resigned | 6th(11 game in) | ![]() | 7 January 2019[11] |
Aizawl | ![]() | Resigned | 10th(11 game in) | ![]() | 9 January 2019 |
Minerva Punjab | ![]() | Resigned | 9th(16 game in) | ![]() | 12 February 2019 |
Gokulam Kerala | ![]() | Move To Technical Director | 10th(18 game in) | ![]() | 28 February 2019 |
Foreign players
On 20 June 2018, it was decided by the All India Football Federation that the number of foreigners for each I-League club will be kept six as previous season. Asian player quota is abolished. Clubs can sign maximum six players of any nationality.[12]
Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chennai City (C) | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 43 | Qualification for AFC Champions League preliminary round 1[a] |
2 | East Bengal | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 20 | +17 | 42 | |
3 | Real Kashmir | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 37[b] | |
4 | Churchill Brothers | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 34 | |
5 | Mohun Bagan | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 29 | |
6 | NEROCA | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 26 | |
7 | Aizawl | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 24 | |
8 | Indian Arrows | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 19 | 28 | −9 | 21 | |
9 | Minerva Punjab | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 18[b] | |
10 | Gokulam Kerala | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 17 | |
11 | Shillong Lajong (R) | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 23 | 56 | −33 | 11 | Relegation to I-League 2nd Division (withdrew) |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
- As of 9 March 2019[15]
Top Indian scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jobby Justin | East Bengal | 9 |
2 | Laldanmawia Ralte | East Bengal | 8 |
3 | Lalkhawpuimawia | Aizawl | 6 |
Phrangki Buam | Shillong Lajong | ||
5 | Samuel Kynshi | Shillong Lajong | 5 |
6 | Naorem Mahesh Singh | Shillong Lajong | 4 |
Rohit Danu | Indian Arrows | ||
Subhash Singh | NEROCA | ||
9 | Surchandra Singh | Real Kashmir | 3 |
Samuel Lalmuanpuia | Shillong Lajong | ||
Amarjit Singh Kiyam | Indian Arrows | ||
Rahul Kannoly Praveen | Indian Arrows |
Hat-tricks
Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Chennai City | Indian Arrows | 4–1 (H) | 26 October 2018 | [16] |
![]() | Churchill Brothers | Shillong Lajong | 4–2 (H) | 15 November 2018 | [17] |
![]() | Chennai City | Shillong Lajong | 6–1 (H) | 29 December 2018 | [18] |
![]() | Chennai City | Gokulam Kerala | 3–2 (H) | 4 January 2019 | [19] |
![]() | Chennai City | NEROCA | 3–3 (A) | 11 February 2019 | [20] |
![]() | East Bengal | Shillong Lajong | 5–0 (H) | 14 February 2019 | [21] |
Cleansheets
- As of 9 March 2019
Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | 9 |
2 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | 5 |
![]() | Indian Arrows | ||
![]() | East Bengal | ||
5 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | 4 |
6 | ![]() | Minerva Punjab | 3 |
![]() | NEROCA | ||
![]() | Aizawl | ||
9 | ![]() | Chennai City | 2 |
![]() | NEROCA | ||
![]() | Minerva Punjab | ||
![]() | Mohun Bagan | ||
![]() | Aizawl |
Average home attendances
Team | GP | Cumulative | High | Low | Mean |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Bengal | 10 | 272,699 | 64,867 | 9,952 | 27,270 |
NEROCA | 10 | 191,383 | 29,932 | 6,135 | 19,139 |
Mohun Bagan | 10 | 176,486 | 62,628 | 3,388 | 17,649 |
Gokulam Kerala | 10 | 148,230 | 30,246 | 2,136 | 14,823 |
Real Kashmir | 9 | 92,440 | 12,857 | 2,792 | 11,206 |
Chennai City | 10 | 61,381 | 9,856 | 3,253 | 6,138 |
Minerva Punjab | 10 | 56,239 | 8,591 | 3,470 | 5,624 |
Shillong Lajong | 10 | 41,231 | 14,697 | 1,107 | 4,123 |
Churchill Brothers | 10 | 33,867 | 3,796 | 2,417 | 3,387 |
Aizawl | 10 | 28,801 | 5,324 | 863 | 2,881 |
Indian Arrows | 10 | 16,497 | 4,520 | 100 | 1,640 |
Total | 109 | 11,14,349 | 64,867 | 100 | 10,223 |
Awards
Hero of the Match
Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | |||
Match 1 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 38 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | Match 75 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 2 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 39 | ![]() | Indian Arrows | Match 76 | ![]() | Real Kashmir |
Match 3 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala | Match 40 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 77 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala |
Match 4 | ![]() | Minerva Punjab | Match 41 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala | Match 78 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers |
Match 5 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong | Match 42 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 79 | ![]() | Indian Arrows |
Match 6 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | Match 43 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 80 | ![]() | Aizawl |
Match 7 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 44 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 81 | ![]() | Indian Arrows |
Match 8 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 45 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 82 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong |
Match 9 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 46 | ![]() | Indian Arrows | Match 83 | ![]() | Real Kashmir |
Match 10 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 47 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 84 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 11 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 48 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 85 | ![]() | Chennai City |
Match 12 | ![]() | Indian Arrows | Match 49 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 86 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers |
Match 13 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | Match 50 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 87 | ![]() | Chennai City |
Match 14 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 51 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 88 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 15 | ![]() | Minerva Punjab | Match 52 | ![]() | Aizawl | Match 89 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan |
Match 16 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 53 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 90 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala |
Match 17 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 54 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 91 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 18 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala | Match 55 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 92 | match not held | |
Match 19 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 56 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 93 | ![]() | Chennai City |
Match 20 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 57 | ![]() | Indian Arrows | Match 94 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong |
Match 21 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 58 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 95 | ![]() | Minerva Punjab |
Match 22 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala | Match 59 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | Match 96 | ![]() | Indian Arrows |
Match 23 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 60 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 97 | ![]() | Chennai City |
Match 24 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong | Match 61 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 98 | ![]() | Aizawl |
Match 25 | ![]() | Aizawl | Match 62 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 99 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 26 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 63 | ![]() | Aizawl | Match 100 | ![]() | Aizawl |
Match 27 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | Match 64 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 101 | ![]() | Indian Arrows |
Match 28 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 65 | ![]() | Indian Arrows | Match 102 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers |
Match 29 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala | Match 66 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 103 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 30 | ![]() | Minerva Punjab | Match 67 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 104 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala |
Match 31 | ![]() | Mohun Bagan | Match 68 | ![]() | Chennai City | Match 105 | ![]() | Aizawl |
Match 32 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 69 | ![]() | Gokulam Kerala | Match 106 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong |
Match 33 | ![]() | Minerva Punjab | Match 70 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong | Match 107 | ![]() | Aizawl |
Match 34 | ![]() | Real Kashmir | Match 71 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 108 | ![]() | Real Kashmir |
Match 35 | ![]() | NEROCA | Match 72 | ![]() | Shillong Lajong | Match 109 | ![]() | East Bengal |
Match 36 | ![]() | East Bengal | Match 73 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 110 | ![]() | Chennai City |
Match 37 | ![]() | Churchill Brothers | Match 74 | ![]() | NEROCA |