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#4 ISL 2017-18 | Champions: Chennaiyin FC
Chennaiyin FC returned to the summit of the ISL in the 2017-18 season, clinching their second title in four years.
The Chennai squad included the likes of Inigo Calderon, Mailson Alves and Raphael Augusto, who all played starring roles in the team's triumph. Several Indian players, including Anirudh Thapa, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Dhanpal Ganesh and Germanpreet Singh, also played key roles.
Chennaiyin finished second in the extended ISL league stage, which saw newcomers Bengaluru FC secure first place. They then took on FC Goa in the semi-finals, where they secured a 4-1 victory on aggregate to reach the final.
The 2017-18 ISL final was a thriller. Bengaluru went ahead, thanks to Sunil Chhetri, but a brace from Alves put Chennaiyin ahead at the interval. The Chennai outfit came out all guns blazing in the second half to score once more through Augusto. Miku managed a late consolation for Bengaluru, but it was too little too late.
Jeje Lalpekhlua top-scored for Chennaiyin with nine goals during the season, while custodian Karanjit Singh recorded seven shutouts.
#5 ISL 2018-19 | Champions: Bengaluru FC
In just their second season in the ISL, Bengaluru FC became the third team to win India's premier football league. The side boasted multiple incredibly talented players. including Sunil Chhetri, Rahul Bheke, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Miku and Dimas Delgado.
The Blues began their group-stage campaign in tremendous form, going unbeaten in their first 11 games. BFC ended the league phase atop the ISL table, collecting 29 points from 18 matches.
They met Northeast United in the semi-finals, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat in the first leg. However, Bengaluru showed immense character to bounce back and win 3-0 at home to complete a 4-2 aggregate win. In the summit clash, they faced FC Goa, with both sides looking to win their maiden ISL title.
The match remained goalless after 90 minutes, forcing extra-time. Just as the final looked to be heading to penalties, BFC's Rahul Bheke scored with three minutes left on the clock.
That strike was enough to secure the title for BFC in a campaign where Chhetri managed an excellent tally of nine goals. He found able support from Miku and Udanta Singh, who scored five goals apiece, while Gurpreet Singh Sandhu kept seven clean sheets during the season.
#6 ISL 2019-20 | Champions: ATK
After two seasons without victory, ATK came back strong to become the only ISL team to win three titles. The 2019-20 season saw wholesale changes to their squad from their previous title-winning teams.
The likes of Roy Krishna, Edu Garcia and Javi Hernandez made up the foreign presence in the squad. Meanwhile, Balwant Singh, Jayesh Rane and Pritam Kotal headlined an excellent Indian presence.
The Kolkata-based franchise began the season on the wrong foot, losing their opening game to the Kerala Blasters. However, they bounced back comprehensively to finish the league stage in second place with 34 points.
ATK played defending champions Bengaluru FC in the semi-finals, in what was expected to be a tight and tense affair. BFC won the first leg 1-0, but ATK fought back to win the second 3-1 to progress to the final.
In the summit clash, they faced two-time ISL winners Chennaiyin FC. ATK scored in the 10th minute through Hernandez and extended their lead through Garcia early in the second half. Chennaiyin pulled one back through Nerijus Valskis, but Hernandez's second goal in stoppage-time sealed the deal.
In the process, ATK won their record third ISL title, thanks largely to Roy Krishna, who found the back of the net 15 times. Krishna received able support from David Williams and Michael Soosairaj, who scored seven and three goals, respectively. Arindam Bhattacharya kept nine clean sheets during ATK's successful 2019-20 campaign.
#7 ISL 2020-21 | Champions: Mumbai City FC
Mumbai City FC will enter the 2021-22 ISL as the defending champions, having won the competition last season. The Islanders clinched a fabulous victory in the Goa bubble despite not being the most fancied side at the start of the campaign.
MCFC began their campaign with a 1-0 loss against Northeast United. The side then bounced back strongly to go on a 12-match unbeaten run. That helped set up an excellent platform, as Mumbai City completed the league stage at the top of the ISL table with 40 points.
In the semi-finals, the Islanders came up against FC Goa. It was 2-2 on aggregate after a goalless second leg, which meant penalties would be required to decide the winner. MCFC held their own to secure a 6-5 victory from the spot to reach their maiden ISL final.
In the summit clash, Mumbai faced newcomers ATK Mohun Bagan. The Mariners took the lead through David Williams, but an own goal by Jose Arroyo brought MCFC back into the game at the half-hour mark. The game looked set to head into extra-time, but Bipin Singh's strike in the 90th minute gave the Islanders their first-ever ISL title.
Though he did not score in the final, Adam le Fondre top-scored for Mumbai City FC with 11 goals during the season. He received plenty of support from Bipin Singh, who netted six times, and captain Amrinder Singh, who kept ten clean sheets playing in goal.
