With only a month remaining until the start of the 2018-19 season of Hero Indian Super League (ISL), all the clubs have started preparations in full force. While Bengaluru FC had a fruitful pre-season in Spain, Kerala Blasters FC locked horns with the likes of Girona FC and Melbourne City FC at Kochi in July. The Blasters are currently training in Ahmedabad and will travel to Thailand for a three-week long pre-season. However, Chennaiyin FC, FC Pune City and Jamshedpur FC were all in action on Wednesday, and FC Goa in the early hours of Thursday.

Hero ISL title holders Chennaiyin faced FA Malaysia’s U-19 squad in their first pre-season encounter, where the match ended goalless at the Wisma FAM in Selangor. Mailson Alves was given the captain’s armband by head coach John Gregory, who fielded a squad studded with the likes of Gregory Nelson, Dhanpal Ganesh, Mohammed Rafi and Sanjiban Ghosh, who took charge under the sticks. While a draw is a positive start for Chennaiyin, they need to come back stronger if they want to defend their title.

FC Pune City, on the other hand, faced a 2-0 setback against Salgaocar FC in their first encounter of the AWES Cup in Goa. Miguel Angel Portugal fielded a starting lineup mixed with both experience and young blood. While Adil Khan was given the responsibility of leading the team out on the pitch, players like Marko Stankovic, Martin Diaz, Gurtej Singh and Alwyn George started alongside him. With Marcelinho and Emiliano Alfaro in the squad, the Stallions have immense firepower, but a good pre-season would do wonders for their overall confidence.

Even Jamshedpur failed to garner positive results in their second pre-season match, as they went down 3-0 to  Segunda División B side UD San Sebastián de Los Reyes. New head coach Cesar Ferrando fielded his side in a 4-4-2 formation, with captain Tiri leading the pack. New signings Sergio Cidoncha and Carlos Calvo manned the midfield, whereas Pablo Morgado and Md. Mobashir were deployed upfront, but they fail to break the opponents’ defence. Though a 1-0 win over Torrelodones CF in their first match is good news for Jamshedpur, the loss will surely be a learning for Ferrando and co.

Meanwhile, Hero ISL 2017-18 runners-up Bengaluru FC were also in action against Altyn Asyr at Ashgabat in their 2018 AFC Cup fixture. After a 3-2 home loss in the first leg, new head coach Carles Cuadrat could not turn the tide over in the second, as the Blues went down fighting 2-0 against the Turkmenistan outfit. With the 5-2 aggregate loss, they bid adieu to the AFC Cup stage with all eyes focused on winning the Hero ISL trophy this year.

FC Goa started their pre-season preparations against Deportiva Minera on Thursday, where they registered a comfortable 3-0 win with Mandar Rao Dessai, Edu Bedia and Liston Colaco getting on the scoresheet. Known for their formidable attack all through 2017-18, the Gaurs look in good shape ahead of the upcoming season. Meanwhile, ATK will clash swords with Lorca FC at the Pinatar Arena on Thursday, as well. The two-time champions have made a number of big signings and will look to set records straight before the season begins.

Mumbai City FC will begin their pre-season preparations on Friday with a two-week trip to Thailand. On the other hand, Delhi Dynamos got their pre-season campaign off to a good start with a 3-0 victory over Taltala Dipti Sangha in Kolkata. The Lions will also be travelling to Qatar to intensify their training before returning to Delhi for the new season. NorthEast United FC are yet to announce their pre-season fixtures and have been training under new head coach Eelco Schattorie at a training base in Guwahati.