ISL 2018-19: Ranking ISL teams on Passing Accuracy after matchday 1 and 2

Bengaluru FC's passing accuracy has been poor so far (Image: ISL)
Bengaluru FC's passing accuracy has been poor so far (Image: ISL)

Accurate passing and keeping possession is something every football team hopes to work on with each and every game. Giving away possession cheaply to the opposition is not considered a good footballing habit and has always been looked down upon.

Granted that passing accuracy is not the only criteria to winning games, but it is surely a significant stat which the teams will look to improve upon in the future games. The team managements of all the ISL clubs would be better off paying attention to this fact and strive to make changes to improve the quality of their game.

Here in this article, we look at how the Indian Super League (ISL) teams have fared when it comes to the accuracy of their passing accuracy and which all clubs have been right on the money by keeping possession after the first two matchdays of ISL 2018-19.


#10 ATK

El Maimouni Noussair of ATK (Image: ISL)
El Maimouni Noussair of ATK (Image: ISL)

ATK have lost both their matches and are lodged at the bottom of the table. Having conceded both their games, you would expect them to fare badly in passing accuracy and their success rate is a paltry 59 per cent.

Kolkata team, with Steve Coppell and Sujoy Sen, would have taken note of how the players were giving away the ball cheaply to their opponents. They had made a total of 573 passes out of which only 340 were successful passes.

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#9 Bengaluru FC

Harmanjot Khabra has been one of the best performers for Bengaluru FC
Harmanjot Khabra has been one of the best performers for Bengaluru FC

Surprisingly, Bengaluru FC fare poorly in this criteria.

BFC had a passing accuracy of 61.8% from their two games. They had made a total passes count of 665 out of which only 411 were successful.

Harmanjot Khabra has been among the thick of things with 79 passes among the 665, accounting for 12 per cent of the passes. Juanan Gonzalez, Miku and Sunil Chettri have also been prolific and have made more than 70 passes to their teammates. But the inaccuracy of the passing is worrying.

The Bengaluru FC management definitely needs to look at it and make amends before their next game, which is against FC Pune City on October 22.

#8 Delhi Dynamos FC

Marcos Tebar of Delhi Dynamos
Marcos Tebar of Delhi Dynamos

Delhi Dynamos have played only one game so far in the first phase of the ISL 2018-19. They had a passing accuracy of 63.64 per cent. They made 252 successful passes out of the total 396 passes in the game against Pune.

Marcos Tebar has been prolific for Delhi with 59 passes in just one game. New recruits Rana Gharami and Gianni Zuverloon have also fared well, being among the active players for the Delhi team. With a passing accuracy of 63.64 per cent, Delhi Dynamos are third from bottom on this list.

#7 FC Pune City

Marko Stankovic of FC Pune City
Marko Stankovic of FC Pune City

Much like Delhi Dynamos, FC Pune City also have played just once. They had a similar but slightly better passing accuracy against Dynamos last week. They made 239 successful passes among the 372 total passes and had an accuracy of 64.25 per cent.

Marko Stankovic has been quite good in controlling the midfield for the team and will look to continue his dominance in the future games too.

#6 Kerala Blasters FC

Kerala Blasters FC (Image Courtesy: ISL)
Kerala Blasters FC (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Kerala Blasters FC have had a mixed start to their ISL 2018-19 season. They won their opener against ATK but drew their second one against Mumbai City FC. The new look team brings a refreshing energy into the field.

The young Serbian recruit Nikola Krcmarevic has been the most influential player on the field for Kerala with 97 passes. Mohammad Rakip, Slavisla Stajanovic and Halicharan Narzary have been quite good on the field, raking up more than 70 passes each in two games.

Kerala have made a total of 782 passes out of which 530 passes have been successful. Their passing accuracy is 67.77% and they are sixth-placed on our list.

#5 Mumbai City FC

Lucian Goian (Image Courtesy: ISL)
Lucian Goian (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Mumbai City FC have one draw and one loss from their first two games of the ISL 2018-19. As you would expect, Lucian Goian has been the most influential player for Mumbai with 95 passes alongside new recruit Paulo Machado (also 95 passes).

In two games, Mumbai have made a total of 796 passes out of which 551 passes have been successful. Their passing accuracy is 69.22.

#4 Jamshedpur FC

Mario Arques (Image Courtesy: ISL)
Mario Arques (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Jamshedpur FC had a good start with one win and a draw in the first phase of ISL 2018-19. They had made 605 successful passes among the 874 total passes done by the team.

Attacking midfielder Mario Arques had 126 passes in two games and defensive midfielder Memo had 118 passes in two games, which clearly shows the dominance of these two stalwarts for Jamshedpur.

With a passing accuracy of 69.22 per cent, Jamshedpur FC is No 4 on our list.

#3 Chennaiyin FC

Raphael Augusto (Image Courtesy:ISL)
Raphael Augusto (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Defending ISL champions Chennaiyin FC have had a tough start to their new season, losing both their matches. But it is good to note that the team has not been giving away balls cheaply and has an impressive passing accuracy of 71.18 per cent. Chennaiyin FC have made a total of 625 successful passes out of 878 total passes.

Raphael Augusto is back to his usual self, making 137 passes in two games and has had a good start to his season.

#2 North East United FC

Rowllin Borges (Image Courtesy: ISL)
Rowllin Borges (Image Courtesy: ISL)

North East United FC, under Eelco Schattorie, have shown that team is much better than what has been on display in the previous seasons of the Indian Super League. They had made a total of 995 passes and had 755 successful passes. Their passing accuracy of 75.88% is clearly one of the best in the industry and gives a glimpse of what can be expected of them in the future games of the ISL 2018-19.

Rowllin Borges and Frederico Gallego clearly called the shots in the midfield for NEUFC in their first two games and the fans would hope that the good form of the duo continues.

North East United FC, with a passing accuracy of 75.88 per cent, is the second-best in the league.

#1 FC Goa

Ahmed Jahouh (Image Courtesy: ISL)
Ahmed Jahouh (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Sergio Lobera is once again advocating his attacking brand of football with FC Goa and deservedly is at the top of the table with four points from two games. FC Goa have made a total of 1028 passes with 788 successful passes. Their passing accuracy is 76.65 per cent, which can be considered to be extremely good in any level of football.

Ahmed Jahouh, with 141 passes, has been the standout player for FC Goa. Equally good contributions have come from Lenny Rodrigues, Hugo Boumous, Chinglensena Singh and Edu Bedia.

FC Goa, for sure is the best team in our list in terms of passing accuracy.

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Edited by Aravind Suchindran