Just like its predecessors, round nine of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 provided fans with some edge-of-the-seat action and didn’t fail to throw up some surprises. With the league stage reaching its halfway stage, teams dug deep and put in the extra mile in an attempt to put up the vital points on the board heading into the business end of the season. Mumbai City FC, Chennaiyin FC, ATK and FC Goa were the big winners of Gameweek 9. Summarizing the best bits, here are the key highlights from round nine of the Hero ISL 2019-20.

Islanders’ stellar away form continues

While their home form this season has been slightly disappointing, Jorge Costa’s men have been outstanding away from home and created a new club record when they beat Jamshedpur FC 2-1 last Thursday. The win marked the seventh straight occasion on which they’ve gotten at least a point away from home. This season, the Islanders are unbeaten in six away matches and slowly starting to get in their groove leading into the second half of the season.

Coyle marks home debut with a win

In his first game in-charge of Chennaiyin FC, Owen Coyle guided the club to a commendable point away to Jamshedpur FC. The performance on the night was quite productive and therefore, expectations were sky-high ahead of the former Burnley manager’s home debut against Kerala Blasters. The pressure, however, hardly got to the Scotland-born-Irishman as he led the Marina Machans to a comprehensive 3-1 win over their rivals.

Krishna rescues ATK in added time, again

Despite being at the bottom of the Hero ISL 2019-20 table going into the fixture, Phil Brown’s men produced an impressive performance against heavyweights, ATK FC last Saturday. The former champions took the lead but were pegged back by two Bobo goals, which seemed to have secured for the home side, their second win of the season. However, in the last exchanges of the encounter, captain and goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh rushed his clearance and allowed Roy Krishna to equalise and earn a point for ATK late in the match, again.

Corominas’ return to form a massive worry for rivals

The Hero ISL’s all-time top-scorer had a patchy start to the season before getting sidelined with an injury. Marking his return to the starting line-up, Coro scored in the 2-1 win over ATK and followed it up with a masterclass against Odisha FC this Gameweek. He scored two goals and assisted the Gaurs’ third of the night, and was a constant menace with his movement and playmaking ability. The Spaniard’s return to form is a massive bonus to FC Goa who will be looking to stay at the top of the table until the end of the season.

ATK win Christmas Day thriller after breaking Bengaluru jinx

In what was the first-ever Hero ISL match played on a Christmas Day, ATK gave the home fans a lot to cheer about as they beat Bengaluru 1-0 in Kolkata courtesy a David Williams goal. It was not only ATK’s first win over the Blues but also their first point against them in the Hero ISL.