Data check: Record third title for ATK, Antonio Habas’ second and other key stats from ISL final

A rampaging ATK side claimed an unprecedented third Indian Super League title triumph with a 3-1 victory over arch-rivals Chennaiyin FC in a summit showdown that was played behind closed doors in Goa on Saturday.

Javier Hernandez (10th) and Edu Garcia (48th) put ATK in the driving seat but Nerijus Valskis (69th) reduced Chennaiyin FC’s deficit with a crucial goal. Chennaiyin built one attack after another as the game neared full-time but the balls into the box were well dealt by ATK.

But after ATK showed stiff resistance, Hernandez added a second in stoppage time which proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Chennaiyin. The win helped the Kolkata side bag their third title alongside an AFC Cup slot.

Here’s a look at some interesting statistics from the ISL final:

With another title in the bag, ATK wrote their name in the history books. They had finished second in the league phase behind FC Goa but turned on the magic in the knock-out stage.

This was the first time that the Chennaiyin FC were beaten in the final, having previously won the title under two different coaches – Marco Matterazi (2015) and John Gregory (2017-’18).

Antonio Habas became the first coach to win two ISL titles as manager having guided ATK to their first triumph in 2014. In 2015, the Spaniard had guided the club to the playoffs before going on to join FC Pune City during the summer of 2016.

Habas also denied Chennaiyin FC boss Owen Coyle his first title triumph as a manager.

Meanwhile, Valskis ended FC Goa striker Ferran Corominas’ bid for a hat-trick of Golden Boot awards by finishing as the top scorer of the tournament in the current edition. The Lithuanian may have ended up on the losing side in the final but scored a crucial goal and narrowly beat ATK’s Roy Krishna to clinch the elusive award. Both were tied after recording the same number of goals and assists throughout the season. However, the Chennaiyin FC hitman emerged winner by virtue of playing fewer minutes.

Valskis also bettered Stiven Mendoza’s tally (13) for most goals scored by a Chennaiyin FC player in a single season.

Despite Bengaluru FC going trophyless for the first time in a season, goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu retained the ISL Golden glove award after another sparkling season. With an impressive minutes per goal ratio of 122.14, the India custodian beat his own record (7) for most clean sheets registered during a single season with a tally of 11. He also made 49 saves in 19 appearances and shipped in just 14 goals.

This is the first occasion where an ISL club has managed to achieve double figures in terms of clean sheets.