After 56 games of thrilling action, the fight for the first Hero Indian Super League title boils down to this. Table-toppers Chennaiyin FC face fourth-placed Kerala Blasters FC in one semifinal, a ‘South Indian derby’ which Chennai dominated during the league phase, winning both games. They won 2-1 at home early in the league campaign, and their 1-0 win in Kochi was the only time Kerala lost on home turf throughout the season.In the other semifinal, Atlético de Kolkata and FC Goa face off in a third vs second battle. Goa failed to defeat Kolkata in their two league phase games, losing 1-2 at home in Fatorda early on in the season before being held to a 1-1 draw in Kolkata on the final day of the league phase. Both Kerala and Goa will no doubt be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes during the semis.Semifinal 1: Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters FCChennaiyin finished in first place during the league phase, collecting 23 points as they looked the most consistent side throughout the season. Kerala, meanwhile, looked a strong side apart from a couple of bad results, but they left it late to qualify for the knockouts – a win in their final game against FC Pune City putting them through when any other result would have knocked them out.This semifinal matchup pits the ISL’s most prolific attack against its stingiest defence. Chennaiyin led the league in goals, with 24. On the other hand, Kerala conceded the fewest, being breached only 11 times, and kept six clean sheets, the highest mark in the league. The battle between Chennai’s attack and the Blasters’ defence will prove crucial to deciding which side reaches the final. The teams’ form at the other end of the pitch may come back to bite them, however. Chennai conceded 20 goals, the second-highest total of the eight teams, but Kerala had the lowest goals scored tally with nine.Semifinal 2: Atlético de Kolkata vs FC GoaKolkata were the early frontrunners after winning their first three games, but they had a stumble in form and qualified for the semifinals only on the final day of the season – thanks to a 1-1 draw against Goa. On the other hand, Goa’s stunning turnaround, after languishing at the bottom of the table at the league’s halfway point, saw them finish second on 22 points, after an unbeaten second half of the league campaign.The Goan attack hit form to take their team into the playoffs. They scored 21 goals, 16 of which came in the second half of the season. Goa’s fluid teamwork was the reason for their success, as they led the league in assists with 15. They also put constant pressure on the opposition goal, ending the league phase as leaders in shots (199) and shots on target (121).Kolkata deployed quite a different style of play to reach the target. Their intense pressing and physicality made them a nightmare to play against for any team, and they had the tendency to wear their opponents down. Kolkata’s style was typified by one statistic: they led the league in fouls, after being pulled up by the referees 218 times. While this disrupted the opposition’s attacking rhythm, it at times also threatened to hurt Kolkata as well, as they had the joint-most red cards among the eight teams (3). However, they will no doubt continue with their high-intensity play in the semis in the hopes of disrupting Goa’s attack.
