ISL: 5 players with the highest goals per game ratio

The Indian Super League (ISL) has made rapid progress since its inception in 2014. From a total of 129 goals (2.11 per match) in 2014 to a whopping 294 goals (3.09 per match) in 2019/20, we have witnessed scoring quality in the league go from strength to strength.

As the standard of foreign players signed by the clubs have been on an upward trajectory, the Indian players too have stepped up to counter the competition. Over the years, numerous strikers with world-class ability have graced the ISL, and the recently concluded season saw a host of them playing together.

The 2019/20 edition had the most goals scored in a single season and the closest race for the Golden Boot award, with three players tied on the highest number of goals.

Here, we take a look at the five players with the best goals to game ratio in ISL history. Interestingly, all the names on this list featured in this season of the league.

#5 Manuel Onwu - 0.7 goals per game

A loan move to Odisha FC in the January transfer window was all that Manuel Onwu needed to answer his critics in India. Initially signed by Bengaluru FC to replace Miku, it was always cut out to be a tough job for the striker to replicate his predecessor's heroics in the league.

In an abysmal start to his spell, Onwu played the first 3 matches and could not register a single shot, let alone a goal. Until 17 January 2020, the Spaniard played 6 games for BFC and had only 3 shots on target, all in the last match against Jamshedpur FC.

Subsequently, the striker moved out of Kanteerava on loan, joining Odisha to replace the injured Aridane Santa. With only four games left, not many expected a magical spell from him. However, Onwu surprised everyone, scoring 10 goals in the remaining matches, including a brace against FC Goa and a hat-trick against Kerala Blasters.

By the end of the season, his ISL stats read 7 goals from 10 matches at an average of 0.7 goals per game. If the 32-year-old had made a move to Odisha a bit earlier, he might have surpassed the big names higher up the list.

#4 Roy Krishna - 0.71 goals per game

Roy Krishna came in to the league as a star signing for ATK, and started scoring regularly from the second game. By the end of the league stage, the former Wellington Phoenix man had 14 goals to his name - including one hat-trick - missing just six minutes in the process.

In the second leg of the semi-final, he netted again to climb to the top of the Golden Boot race. During the ISL final, however, the Fiji international faced an unexpected hurdle in the form of injury that cut his game short at the 40th minute.

Despite ending the campaign an hour early, Roy Krishna had done enough to steer his side to the brink of the title. ATK went on to win the ISL beating Chennaiyin FC, and the 32-year-old was undoubtedly the driving force that took Antonio Lopez Habas' side to the top.

Krishna scored 15 times in 21 matches at 0.71 goals per game, reflecting his involvement in 53% of the goals scored by the team throughout the campaign.

#3 Nerijus Valskis - 0.75 goals per game

Like in the Golden Boot race, Chennaiyin FC striker Nerijus Valskis pips Roy Krishna on this list too. The Lithuanian had a below-par start to the season, coming off the bench in the first 2 games and not scoring a goal in 4 matches.

However, it was Valskis' late goal against Hyderabad FC that got Chennai their first win this season. The striker didn't look back after that goal, making a goal contribution in all but two games up to the final. Valskis was another tireless striker in the edition, missing just one game throughout the period.

The 32-year-old's poaching skills and clinical finishing played a vital role in Owen Coyle's historic comeback from the trenches of the league table. His understanding with the attacking trio behind him created numerous moments outside the scope of numbers.

Valskis hit the target 15 times in 20 ISL games, averaging 0.75 goals per game, and was involved in 58% goals scored by the team.

#2 Bartholomew Ogbeche - 0.79 goals per game

The only player on the list who did not play the ISL playoffs this season is Kerala Blasters captain Bartholomew Ogbeche. The striker, who joined Kerala after a season with NorthEast United, has had his goal-scoring boots all along his ISL journey.

Ogbeche began scoring from the word go, with a brace against ATK in the season opener. After a goalless run of seven games, including an injury patch, he scored in 3 consecutive matches, securing 4 points for the Blasters.

Though the team had a very disappointing campaign, the French striker stood out, finding the back of the net regularly. Even when the team was troubled by injuries, Ogbeche had a formidable partnership with Messi Bouli to wreak havoc among the opposition defence.

He scored 15 goals in 16 matches this season, including one hat-trick. In two seasons in the ISL, the 35-year-old has 27 goals in 34 games, and boasts of a goals per game ratio of 0.79.

#1 Ferran Corominas - 0.84 goals per game

Two-time Golden Boot winner and all-time ISL top-scorer Ferran Corominas tops the list, even after three full seasons in the league. Like his previous two seasons, the FC Goa striker started the 2019/29 campaign with a goal, this time against Chenaniyin FC.

He got on the score-sheet regularly, and was part of a deadly combination with Hugo Boumous. Coro has always been the vital cog in Sergio Lobera's successful brand of football that has reached the semi-final in each of the last three seasons.

In the 2017/18 season, the Spaniard scored 18 goals in 20 matches, followed by 16 goals in the next term. This season, the striker scored 14 goals from 17 matches, even after missing three games owing to injury.

Ferran Corominas has found the back of the net 48 times in 57 ISL games, at 0.84 goals per match.