The fifth edition of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) has delivered some exhilarating action over the past two months.  New stars have broken through while the usual suspects from previous years have once again turned up to deliver some impressive results for their respective teams.

With just over a third of the season over, we take a look at the numbers so far to bring you some of the interesting aspects of Hero ISL 2018-19.

Indian players scaling new heights

There’s no doubt that the Indian contingent has enjoyed a productive season so far, at least while going forward. After 34 matches, the Indian players have chipped in with 32 goals and 28 assists – the highest tally by Indians at a similar stage over the five seasons.

Goals and assists by Indians after 34 matches:

Hero ISL Season	Goals by Indians	Assists by Indians
2014	11	15
2015	27	23
2016	12	13
2017-18	25	24
2018-19	32	28

Sunil Chhetri, like always, has been at the thick of things, scoring four goals so far – the highest among Indian players. However, this season has also seen a few new faces take centre stage. Jamshedpur FC's Michael Soosairaj and Chennaiyin FC's Thoi Singh have impressed with their goal scoring abilities and have notched up three goals each. Soosairaj stole the limelight earlier in the season when he led Jamshedpur to a sensational victory over a strong FC Goa outfit. Thoi, on the other hand, has been a silver lining for Chennaiyin in what has been a forgettable start to the season. Kerala Blasters FC’s Seiminlen Doungel, meanwhile, finds himself joint-third in the Assists leader board with three to his name.

 A season of goals

The 2018-19 season has seen several records shattered over the course of the past six weeks. The league took just 34 matches to reach the 100-goal mark, which turned out to be the fastest in its five-year history.

Goals after 34 matches:

Hero ISL Season	Goals
2014	69
2015	88
2016	68
2017-18	87
2018-19	100

A big reason behind the increase in the goal tally can be attributed to players’ willingness to take more shots. This season has seen 825 shots at goal, which is again the highest number recorded at this stage of the season in all five editions of Hero ISL.

Away teams with the upper-hand

One surprising aspect of this campaign has been the form of teams on the road. Out of the 100 goals, 52 have been scored by away teams – which is also a new record at this stage of the season. Only nine home victories have been registered so far, which is also the least ever recorded at a similar stage of the season.

Home wins and away goals after 34 matches:

Hero ISL Season	Home wins	Away goals
2014	12	29
2015	16	41
2016	10	34
2017-18	12	45
2018-19	9	52

Click here to view more stats.