With the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 entering its final month, players stepped up their game to help their individual as well as collective ambitions for the season. FC Goa, ATK FC and Bengaluru FC all continued their search for the elusive top spot with important wins, thereby making for quite a few exemplary displays at both ends of the pitch.

Delving deeper, here are the top performers from the week gone by based on their match ratings.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC)

On a nervy night for the defending champions, the India international stood tall and strong to prevent literally anything from passing through him against Hyderabad FC. Gurpreet saved a massive penalty, while also producing a stoppage-time save that had the entire crowd on their feet.

Nishu Kumar (Bengaluru FC)

The youngster’s rocket of a strike in the seventh minute against Hyderabad proved to be the difference between one point and three for the defending champions. Nishu made his mark at both ends of the pitch, accounting for four shots, 38 passes and five clearances by the end of 90 minutes.

Albert Serran (Bengaluru FC)

While the likes of Gurpreet and Nishu grabbed the headlines, the Spaniard’s exploits were a key reason behind the likes of Bobo and Marcelo Pereira enduring difficult times on the pitch for Hyderabad. Serran had a 90% passing accuracy in the match and completed six tackles and seven clearances through the 90 minutes.

Mislav Komorski (NorthEast United FC)

The NorthEast United defender was one of the outstanding players for the Highlanders on the night they played ATK, making a goalline clearance to deny Soosairaj a goal. He had a passing accuracy of 82% and made a massive 26 clearances against ATK, the highest by any player this season. 

Agustin Iniguez (ATK FC)

Iniguez had a passing accuracy of 87%, with his partnership with Pritam Kotal proving tough for teams to break this season. He made 12 clearances and four interceptions against NorthEast to ensure ATK kept another clean sheet this season.

Mohamed Larbi (Mumbai City FC)

Larbi opened the scoring from the spot against Hyderabad, with his goal seemingly enough to seal the win till the final minute. He had a passing accuracy of 64% and went on to make two interceptions and two blocks through the length of the match.

Javier Hernandez (ATK FC)

Javier’s crosses led to another goal for ATK this season and this time it was an injury-time winner headed in by Balwant Singh against NorthEast. Defensively, he made seven successful tackles and three interceptions in the same match.

Hugo Boumous (FC Goa)

Goa played two matches this gameweek, where Boumous went on to score a brace against Kerala Blasters in one, including the winner, and assisted Jackichand’s second goal against Odisha FC in the other. He created eight chances for his team in total with his attacking prowess allowing the Gaurs to top the table going into February. 

Jackichand Singh (FC Goa)

Jackichand’s three goals in two matches is a good sign for Goa, going into the business end of the Hero ISL. Added to this, he put in a hard shift from the wings, sending in five crosses in two games for the Gaurs this week.

Bartholomew Ogbeche (Kerala Blasters FC)

Ogbeche scored Kerala’s equalising goal against Goa to ensure his side were in the game till a late Boumous goal sealed their fate. He assisted Messi Bouli’s opening goal, while creating two other chances for his side through the night.

Manuel Onwu (Odisha FC)

Onwu made the switch from Bengaluru to Odisha to fill the goal-scoring boots of the injured Aridane Santana and marked his debut with a second-half brace against Goa. Although his efforts ended up on the losing side, his overall performance was appreciated by many.

Gameweek 14 matches:

Match 66: Hyderabad FC 1-1 Mumbai City FC

Match 67:  FC Goa 3-2 Kerala Blasters FC

Match 68:  ATK FC 1-0 NorthEast United FC

Match 69:  Odisha FC 2-4 FC Goa

Match 70:  Bengaluru FC 1:0 Hyderabad FC

Who do you think was the standout player from Gameweek 14 of Hero ISL 2019-20?