ISL Final, Bengaluru v Goa: Road to Summit Clash - 3 reasons why Blues are favourites to grab ISL 2018-19 trophy

The Indian Super League (ISL) is reaching its business end this Sunday with Bengaluru FC and FC Goa contesting the ISL final at the Mumbai Football Arena on March 17.

Bengaluru scripted a stunning comeback in their second leg semifinal against NorthEast United, romping to a 3-0 victory at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium after losing the first leg 1-2 in Guwahati. Goa, on the other hand, progressed to the ISL final after beating Mumbai City 5-2 on aggregate.

Like last season, the battle for the top prize is between the top two teams from the league stage. Bengaluru, unfortunately, missed out on the ISL trophy in 2017-18, losing to Chennaiyin FC 2-3 in front of their home fans at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

Eight points separated Bengaluru and Chennaiyin in the league stage last time around, which prompted some of the Bengaluru players to take a dig at their opponents and the ISL with the #LeagueHotiTohKyaHota (loosely translating to 'Why Isn't It League' or 'What Would Happen If It Was A League?) term.

This time though, Bengaluru finished the league stage with 34 points, the same tally as Goa, and have a point to prove after their rants last season.

Here are three reasons why Bengaluru are favourites to win the ISL 2018-19:

---

#3 Bengaluru's fighting spirit

It's in Bengaluru's DNA to always play to win. Even with their backs turned against the wall, this Bengaluru side, under coach Carles Cuadrat, has that belief to keep fighting till the very end.

Overturning a 2-1 deficit in a match as big as the ISL semifinal is no easy feat. Bengaluru's first-half performance wasn't their best either. They went into the half-time break against NorthEast United with their heads down but there returned to the pitch reassured that they could pull off the job against NEUFC.

You could argue that NorthEast did not have their Best XI on the pitch. NEUFC were unfortunate to lose their star player Federico Gallego to a horrifying injury in the 53rd minute. Gallego was taken to hospital in an ambulance after breaking his leg trying to stop a Miku shot. Eelco Schattorie was missing his charismatic captain Bartholomew Ogbeche and contributing midfielder Rowllin Borges before that second leg.

But it's not the first time that Bengaluru have pulled a rabbit out of the hat. They had a famous come-from-behind victory over ATK on October 31, 2018, with Miku and Erik Paartalu scoring after Komal Thatal gave ATK the lead.

Against Kerala Blasters at home on Feb 6, they trailed 0-2 at half-time but rallied to snatch a point from the Kochi-based club, a result that helped them maintain their unbeaten record at home.

The AFC Cup 2016 victory over Johor Darul Ta'zim, after drawing 1-1 in Malaysia, epitomises Bengaluru's never-say-die attitude. And now that they are in the ISL final again, there's a feeling that the job is not done yet.

On Sunday, the fighting spirit will be in full flow again.

#2 Goa has continuity, Bengaluru has an upgrade

Carles Cuadrat (left), who served as Albert Roca's assistant, has brought his flavour to Bengaluru FC

Goa are one of the two sides in the ISL who have retained the services of their head coach. That decision to have Sergio Lobera coach the team for one more season has seen them achieve tremendous success. The same, however, cannot be said against the other side that retained the services of the head coach, Chennaiyin FC, who finished bottom of the pile.

Bengaluru were also hoping that Albert Roca but the Spaniard left to spend more time with his family, prompting the club to appoint his assistant Carles Cuadrat as Roca's successor.

Goa have continuity and that's extremely important in a game like football. Lobera, free of distractions, has improved Goa's defence in such a way that they have the joint-most clean sheets this season at 8 after keeping just 2 last season. That said about the defence, the attacking flair of Goa's strike force has continued.

The importance of continuity was not lost on Bengaluru winger Udanta Singh, who commented:

"I feel that continuity is always important in every sport. When coach Roca came in, he set up a philosophy of football and he had a vision about how the game has to be played.

"And though it was tough to see him leave, we were very lucky that in coach Carles we got someone who shared that philosophy and, more importantly, knew the players he had in the team. It was a very important factor in making sure that the team wasn’t affected."

Cuadrat has, sort of, continued the work done by Roca but he has added his own little things to the side. If you could say Roca is an old fashioned taskmaster, Cuadrat is more of an approachable buddy to his players.

He's more adaptable than Roca and that was seen in the second leg semifinal against NorthEast, where he took off defender Juanan Gonzalez and replaced him with an attacker Luisma Villa, leaving just three at the back. Bengaluru scored their opener soon after and then went onto win the semifinal.

Cuadrat is more pragmatic too. He doesn't shy away from changing his formations any time in the game depending on the situation. We've seen Bengaluru play a 3-4-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, with some of their players like Rahul Bheke and Harmanjot Khabra comfortable in playing at any position in the defence and midfield.

In Lobera, Goa have continuity. But in Cuadrat, Bengaluru have a Roca upgrade.

#1 Bengaluru's enviable record against Goa

Albert Serran could be brought back into the line-up against FC Goa

Bengaluru needed just 10 men to beat Goa 3-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, which secured their spot on top of the ISL table. Even before that, they convincingly beat Goa 2-1 with that famous Rahul Bheke back-heel and Sunil Chhetri's goal.

There's something about Goa's style of play that Bengaluru have figured quite well. It's probably got to do with maintaining a high line with two solid centre-backs - Albert Serran and Juanan Gonzalez in this case - and flowing the attack from the flanks.

The midfield of both sides contribute to the attack the same way. Bengaluru's Dimas Delgado may have only made 1025 passes and trails Goa's Ahmed Jahouh (1394) by a margin of more than 350 but Jahouh also has defensive duties to execute. Bengaluru have a defensive midfielder (Alejandro Barrera) just for that, giving Delgado the freedom to move up, just like Goa's Edu Bedia.

Up front, Miku sometimes holds the final defender and finds the runs made by wingers Udanta Singh and Sunil Chhetri. Ferran Corominas, the top-scorer with 15 goals, does that for Goa but their wingers Jackichand Singh and Brandon Fernandes are not as lethal as Bengaluru's duo.

Cuadrat may bring Serran back into the line-up to partner Juanan in the defence, which means Xisco has to drop to the bench. But it's probably what the team needs to maintain its enviable record against Goa and grab the ISL trophy.

"I think the final is always a different game but we know how to play against them," Bengaluru midfielder Dimas Delgado said. "We know them well. I think it would be a good show."