Bengaluru FC won Super Cup 2018

Bengaluru FC won the 2018 Super Cup by defeating East Bengal 4-1 in the final played at the Kalinga Stadium. The JSW Group owned side had earlier ended their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign as runners-up to Chennaiyin FC in the final played over a month ago.

However, they maintained their run of lifting a trophy each season since their inception in 2013/14 with their Super Cup victory. The knock-out competition was introduced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to replace the Federation Cup, which incidentally was won by Bengaluru FC last season.

The Blues entered the tournament in the Round-of-16 phase. They first came from behind to defeat Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 and then emerged 3-1 winners over I-League runners-up NEROCA FC in the quarter-final. In the semi-final, they faced former I-League rivals Mohun Bagan. They won the game 4-2 despite being a goal and a man down in the first half. 

Meeting another familiar opponent in the final, Bengaluru FC defeated East Bengal 4-1. In a similar start, they let the opposition score first but managed to score four goals to lift the trophy in trying conditions. Venezuelan striker Miku was adjudged as the 'Hero of the Tournament' for his five goals. Captain Sunil Chhetri managed to score six goals with both of them having registered a hat-trick each.

Chennaiyin FC won 2018 Indian Super League

Chennaiyin FC lifted their game to a level befitting the occasion and sent fancied Bengaluru FC crushing to a painful 2-3 defeat, clinching the Indian Super League title. Chennaiyin FC Mailson Alves turned out to be the star of the title with a brace. And there was also some Brazilian touch to the game.

Mailson first scored in the 17th minute, which cancelled Sunil Chhetri's ninth minute opener for the hosts, and then propelled his side to a remarkable lead with another leaping header in the 45th minute. Raphael Augusto, also a Brazilian, added to the home team's agony with his 67th minute strike, leaving the raucous home fans stunned at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, which was packed to the rafters.

Miku scored for Bengaluru in injury time but that proved to be too little, too late. Interestingly, four out of the five goals came through headers. This was Chennaiyin FC's second title triumph in the ISL, tying them with ATK as the most successful team in the tournament. In their quest to find the equalizer, Bengaluru FC often left gap in the back line, and Chennaiyin took full advantage of that to close out the game.

Entering the final after an unbeaten run of 10 games, Bengaluru FC started it in the earnest and affected the first breakthrough. Chhetri's opening goal gave Bengaluru FC the advantage they needed early on in the summit showdown. Chhetri headed in after the impressive Udanta Singh, with a great burst of pace down the wings, made the assist. Bengaluru, who played in 3-4-3 formation, were dominant in the first 10 minutes.

Chennaiyin lift Indian Super League Title

Forced to shift base to another venue due to flood in their home city, Chennaiyin FC were crowned the Hero Indian Super League Champion after they beat FC Goa 3-2 in a drama filled summit clash, in which three goals were scored in the last four minutes.

In a befitting grand finale of the ISL second season which saw 186 goals scored in 60 matches as compared to 121 last year, the Chennaiyin vs Goa clash at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium saw as many as five goals, all of them coming in the second half of the edge of the seat match. Bruno Pelissari put Chennaiyin ahead in the 54^th minute but Goa equalized within four minutes with Haokip finding the target.

Gonzalez then put Goa ahead for the first time in the 87^th minute in what looked like to be the winning goal. But under dramatic circumstances Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani conceded an own goal in the 90^th minute to level the score before Chennaiyin striker Mendoza found the target in the first minute of the injury time to stun the home supporters of Goa. For Chennaiyin, coached by Italian World Cup Winner Marco Materazzi, the triumph was all the more remarkable as they had to shift to Pune for their semi-final first leg after their home venue was devastated by flood.

They were also struggling in the early part of the league and needed four wins on the trot in their last four matches to qualify for the semi-finals. But it was heartbreak for Goa FC who looked the most attacking side in the season under Brazilian legend Zico, who is not expected to return for the next season. The winner got richer by Rs 8 crore while FC Goa got Rs 4 crore. The two semi-final losers got Rs 1.5 crore each.