2017–18 Indian Super League season


The 2017–18 Indian Super League season was the fourth season of the Indian Super League, one of the top Indian professional football leagues. It was established in 2013. The regular season started on 17 November 2017 and ended on 4 March 2018, The finals began on 7 March 2018, concluding with the final on 17 March 2018. ATK were the defending champions from the 2016 season, however they could not advance to the playoffs. Chennaiyin won their second Indian Super League title by defeating Bengaluru 3–2 in the final.
Two new sides joined the league as expansion teams: Bengaluru and Jamshedpur. The two new clubs are the ninth and tenth teams in the league. This made it the first edition of the ISL in which there are more than eight teams participating. As well as expanding two teams, the league also expanded two more months, being played in five months instead of three.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Expansion

On 11 May 2017, it was announced by the Indian Super League organizers, Football Sports Development, that they would be inviting bids for new teams to join the league for the upcoming season. The bids would be for ten cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram. It was also clarified that if Kolkata were to win at least one bid for a team, the new "Kolkata" side would have to play away from the city for two seasons.
On 25 May 2017, it was announced that bidding for new teams had ended and that the league's appointed external validator would look over the bids. It was also announced that Bengaluru, the two-time champion of the I-League, India's top-tier professional football league, had submitted a bid. Two weeks later, on 12 June, it was officially announced that Bengaluru and Tata Group had won the bids for the new teams.

Personnel and sponsorship

Head coaching changes

Roster changes

Overseas players

Unlike during the first three seasons of the Indian Super League, the 2017–18 season saw the maximum number of foreign players per team reduced to eight from 11. Also unlike the previous three seasons, the maximum number of foreigners allowed on the pitch at the same time was reduced to five from six.
ATK Bengaluru Chennaiyin Delhi Dynamos Goa
Robbie Keane
Zequinha
Conor Thomas
Jordi Figueras
Tom Thorpe
Ryan Taylor
Martin Paterson
Sibongakonke Mbatha		 John Johnson
Juanan
Erik Paartalu
Dimas
Toni Dovale
Miku
Daniel Segovia
Víctor Pérez		 Iñigo Calderón
Raphael Augusto
Rene Mihelič
Jaime Gavilán
Jude Nworuh
Gregory Nelson
Henrique Sereno
Maílson Alves		 Paulinho Dias
Matías Mirabaje
Gabriel Cichero
Kalu Uche
Manuel Arana
Edu Moya
Jeroen Lumu
Xabi Irureta		 Bruno Pinheiro
Hugo Boumous
Coro
Ahmed Jahouh
Chechi
Manuel Lanzarote
Edu Bedia
Mark Sifneos
Jamshedpur Kerala Blasters Mumbai City NorthEast United Pune City
Tiri
Sameehg Doutie
Memo
Kervens Belfort
Andre Bikey
Matheus Gonçalves
Izu Azuka
Wellington Priori		 Iain Hume
Courage Pekuson
Nemanja Lakić-Pešić
Wes Brown
Paul Rachubka
Dimitar Berbatov
Guðjón Baldvinsson
Pulga		 Lucian Goian
Gerson Vieira
Éverton Santos
Rafa Jordà
Léo Costa
Márcio Rosário
Achille Emaná
Thiago Santos		 Marcinho
José Gonçalves
Sambinha
Martín Díaz
Danilo
Hélio Pinto
Maic Sema
John Mosquera		 Emiliano Alfaro
Marcos Tébar
Marcelinho
Rafa
Jonatan Lucca
Diego Carlos
Marko Stanković
Lolo

League table

Results

Playoffs

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Top Indian scorers

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
CoroGoaBengaluru4–3 30 11 2017
CoroGoaKerala Blasters5–2 9 12 2017
MarcelinhoPune CityNorthEast United5–0 30 12 2017
Iain HumeKerala BlastersDelhi Dynamos3–1 10 1 2018
Seiminlen DoungelNorthEast UnitedChennaiyin3–1 19 1 2018
Sunil ChhetriBengaluruPune City3–1 11 3 2018

Discipline

Average home attendances

Awards

Emerging Player of the Match

Fans' Player of the Month

Fans' Team of the Season

End of season awards