# 2018–19 I-League

The 2018–19 I-League was the 12th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 26 October 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2019. Unlike the Indian Super League, the I-League did not take a mid-season break during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Minerva Punjab was the defending champions having won the previous season. Real Kashmir joined as a promoted club from the I-League 2nd Division. Churchill Brothers, having been relegated the previous season, were given an exemption by the All India Football Federation for this season.
Chennai City FC were the champions for this season, winning the title on the last day. This was their first title win in the history of the club. The top scorer in the league was Chennai City FC's Pedro Manzi, who finished the season with 21 goals.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Team | City/State | Stadium | Capacity |
| Aizawl | Aizawl, Mizoram | Rajiv Gandhi Stadium | 25,000 |
| Chennai City | Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 35,000 |
| Churchill Brothers | Vasco da Gama, Goa | Tilak Maidan Stadium | 15,000 |
| East Bengal | Kolkata, West Bengal | Salt Lake Stadium | 85,000 |
| Gokulam Kerala | Kozhikode, Kerala | EMS Stadium | 80,000 |
| Indian Arrows | Cuttack, Odisha Bhubaneswar, Odisha | Barabati Stadium Kalinga Stadium | 60,000 30,000 |
| Minerva Punjab | Panchkula, Chandigarh | Tau Devi Lal Stadium | 15,000 |
| Mohun Bagan | Kolkata, West Bengal | Salt Lake Stadium | 85,000 |
| NEROCA | Imphal, Manipur | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium | 40,000 |
| Real Kashmir | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir | TRC Turf Ground | 15,000 |
| Shillong Lajong | Shillong, Meghalaya | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 35,000 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Aizawl | Stanley Rozario | Vamos | NECS Limited |
| Chennai City | Akbar Nawas | Penalty | Nippon Paint |
| Churchill Brothers | Petre Gigiu | Nivia | Churchill Group |
| East Bengal | Alejandro Menéndez | Perf | Quess Corp |
| Gokulam Kerala | Gift Raikhan | Kaizen | Aqualine |
| Indian Arrows | Floyd Pinto | Nike | Hero |
| Minerva Punjab | Sachin Badadhe | Astro | Apollo Tyres |
| Mohun Bagan | Khalid Jamil | Shiv Naresh | None |
| NEROCA | Manuel Retamero Fraile | Sqad Gear | Classic Group |
| Real Kashmir | David Robertson | Adidas | J&K Bank |
| Shillong Lajong | Alison Kharsyntiew | Lotto | McDowell's No.1 |

### Head coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Chennai City | V. Soundararajan | Contract finished | Pre-season | Akbar Nawas | 20 March 2018 |
| Aizawl | Santosh Kashyap | Contract finished | Pre-season | Gift Raikhan | 6 June 2018 |
| NEROCA | Gift Raikhan | Contract finished | Pre-season | Manuel Retamero Fraile | 6 July 2018 |
| Indian Arrows | Luís Norton de Matos | Contract finished | Pre-season | Floyd Pinto | 25 July 2018 |
| Minerva Punjab | Khogen Singh | Contract finished | Pre-season | Paul Munster | 9 August 2018 |
| East Bengal | Khalid Jamil | Mutual consent | Pre-season | Alejandro Menéndez | 20 August 2018 |
| Mohun Bagan | Sankarlal Chakraborty | Resigned | 6th(11 game in) | Khalid Jamil | 7 January 2019 |
| Aizawl | Gift Raikhan | Resigned | 10th(11 game in) | Stanley Rozario | 9 January 2019 |
| Minerva Punjab | Paul Munster | Resigned | 9th(16 game in) | Sachin Badadhe(interim) | 12 February 2019 |
| Gokulam Kerala | Bino George | Move To Technical Director | 10th(18 game in) | Gift Raikhan | 28 February 2019 |

### Foreign players

On 20 June 2018, it was decided by the All India Football Federation that the number of foreigners for each I-League club will be kept six as previous season. Asian player quota is abolished. Clubs can sign maximum six players of any nationality.
Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.
| Club | Foreigner 1 | Foreigner 2 | Foreigner 3 | Foreigner 4 | Foreigner 5 | Foreigner 6 |
| Aizawl | Léonce Dodoz | Alfred Jaryan | Ansumana Kromah | Kareem Omolaja | Richard Kasagga | |
| Chennai City | Mauro Boerchio | Jozef Kapláň | Roberto Eslava | Néstor Gordillo | Pedro Manzi | Sandro Rodríguez |
| Churchill Brothers | Nenad Novakovic | Lorougnon Christ Remi | Hussein Eldor | Willis Plaza | Anthony Wolfe | Khalid Aucho |
| East Bengal | Jhonny Acosta | Enrique Esqueda | Kassim Aidara | Toni Dovale | Borja Gómez Pérez | Jaime Santos |
| Gokulam Kerala | Daniel Addo | Fabien Vorbe | Ejiogu Emmanual | Andre Ettienne | Marcus Joseph |
| Minerva Punjab | Jorge Caceido | Kalif Alhassan | Juan Quero | Mahmoud Amnah | Roland Bilala | |
| Mohun Bagan | Aser Pierrick Dipanda | Omar Elhussieny | Sony Norde | Yuta Kinowaki | Kingsley Obumneme | Henry Kisekka |
| NEROCA | Aryn Williams | Chencho Gyeltshen | Eduardo Ferreira | Katsumi Yusa | Varney Kallon | Felix Chidi Odili |
| Real Kashmir | Abednego Tetteh | Bazie Armand | Gnohere Krizo | Loveday Enyinnaya | Mason Robertson | Aaron Katebe |
| Shillong Lajong | | | | | | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Chennai City (C) | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 43 | Qualification for AFC Champions League preliminary round 1 |
| 2 | East Bengal | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 20 | +17 | 42 | |
| 3 | Real Kashmir | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 37 | |
| 4 | Churchill Brothers | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 34 | |
| 5 | Mohun Bagan | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 29 | |
| 6 | NEROCA | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 26 | |
| 7 | Aizawl | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 24 | |
| 8 | Indian Arrows | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 19 | 28 | −9 | 21 | |
| 9 | Minerva Punjab | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 18 | |
| 10 | Gokulam Kerala | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 17 | |
| 11 | Shillong Lajong (R) | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 23 | 56 | −33 | 11 | Relegation to I-League 2nd Division (withdrew) |
* ↑ If the league champions cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage, they will enter the AFC Cup group stage.
* 1 2 The game between Minerva Punjab and Real Kashmir was rescheduled, but eventually it was not played and both teams were awarded a point.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AFC | CHE | CHU | EAB | GOK | INA | MIN | MOH | NER | REK | SHI |
| Aizawl | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 |
| Chennai City | 4–3 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 6–1 |
| Churchill Brothers | 4–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| East Bengal | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| Gokulam Kerala | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Indian Arrows | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Minerva Punjab | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Mohun Bagan | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| NEROCA | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–3 | 3–2 |
| Real Kashmir | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 6–1 |
| Shillong Lajong | 2–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
* ↑ Both teams agreed to share one point each. Match was abandoned because of security issue.

## Season statistics
### Scoring

    As of 9 March 2019

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | Indian Arrows | 4–1 (H) | 26 October 2018 |
| Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers | Shillong Lajong | 4–2 (H) | 15 November 2018 |
| Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | Shillong Lajong | 6–1 (H) | 29 December 2018 |
| Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | Gokulam Kerala | 3–2 (H) | 4 January 2019 |
| Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | NEROCA | 3–3 (A) | 11 February 2019 |
| Laldanmawia Ralte | East Bengal | Shillong Lajong | 5–0 (H) | 14 February 2019 |

### Cleansheets

    As of 9 March 2019
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Bilal Khan | Real Kashmir | 9 |
| 2 | James Kithan | Churchill Brothers | 5 |
| 2 | Prabhsukhan Singh Gill | Indian Arrows | 5 |
| 2 | Rakshit Dagar | East Bengal | 5 |
| 5 | Shilton Paul | Mohun Bagan | 4 |
| 6 | Bhaskar Roy | Minerva Punjab | 3 |
| 6 | Lalit Thapa | NEROCA | 3 |
| 6 | Lalawmpuia | Aizawl | 3 |
| 9 | Nauzet Santana | Chennai City | 2 |
| 9 | Mauro Boerchio | NEROCA | 2 |
| 9 | Arshdeep Singh | Minerva Punjab | 2 |
| 9 | Shankar Roy | Mohun Bagan | 2 |
| 9 | Gurpreet Singh Chabal | Aizawl | 2 |

## Average home attendances

    As of 9 March 2019
| Team | GP | Cumulative | High | Low | Mean |
| East Bengal | 10 | 272,699 | 64,867 | 9,952 | 27,270 |
| NEROCA | 10 | 191,383 | 29,932 | 6,135 | 19,139 |
| Mohun Bagan | 10 | 176,486 | 62,628 | 3,388 | 17,649 |
| Gokulam Kerala | 10 | 148,230 | 30,246 | 2,136 | 14,823 |
| Real Kashmir | 9 | 92,440 | 12,857 | 2,792 | 11,206 |
| Chennai City | 10 | 61,381 | 9,856 | 3,253 | 6,138 |
| Minerva Punjab | 10 | 56,239 | 8,591 | 3,470 | 5,624 |
| Shillong Lajong | 10 | 41,231 | 14,697 | 1,107 | 4,123 |
| Churchill Brothers | 10 | 33,867 | 3,796 | 2,417 | 3,387 |
| Aizawl | 10 | 28,801 | 5,324 | 863 | 2,881 |
| Indian Arrows | 10 | 16,497 | 4,520 | 100 | 1,640 |
| Total | 109 | 11,14,349 | 64,867 | 100 | 10,223 |

## Awards
### Hero of the Match

| Match | Hero of the Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | Hero of the Match | Match | Hero of the Match | Hero of the Match |
| Match | Player | Club | Match | Player | Club | Match | Player | Club |
| Match 1 | Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | Match 38 | Nagen Tamang | Real Kashmir | Match 75 | Jobby Justin | East Bengal |
| Match 2 | Enrique Esqueda | East Bengal | Match 39 | Amarjit Singh Kiyam | Indian Arrows | Match 76 | Gnohere Krizo | Real Kashmir |
| Match 3 | Arjun Jayaraj | Gokulam Kerala | Match 40 | Khalid Aucho | Churchill Brothers | Match 77 | Arnab Das Sharma | Gokulam Kerala |
| Match 4 | Philip Njoku | Minerva Punjab | Match 41 | Ningthoujam Pritam Singh | Gokulam Kerala | Match 78 | Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers |
| Match 5 | Naorem Mahesh Singh | Shillong Lajong | Match 42 | Alexander Romario | Chennai City | Match 79 | Boris Singh Thangjam | Indian Arrows |
| Match 6 | Bilal Khan | Real Kashmir | Match 43 | Laldanmawia Ralte | East Bengal | Match 80 | Lalrinchhana | Aizawl |
| Match 7 | Ronald Singh | NEROCA | Match 44 | Henry Kisekka | Mohun Bagan | Match 81 | Rahim Ali | Indian Arrows |
| Match 8 | Jobby Justin | East Bengal | Match 45 | Jaime Santos | East Bengal | Match 82 | Naorem Mahesh Singh | Shillong Lajong |
| Match 9 | Nenad Novaković | Churchill Brothers | Match 46 | Amarjit Singh Kiyam | Indian Arrows | Match 83 | Loveday Enyinnaya | Real Kashmir |
| Match 10 | Sony Norde | Mohun Bagan | Match 47 | Roberto Eslava | Chennai City | Match 84 | Enrique Esqueda | East Bengal |
| Match 11 | Ajith Kumar | Chennai City | Match 48 | Malemngamba Meitei | NEROCA | Match 85 | Sandro Rodríguez | Chennai City |
| Match 12 | Ashish Rai | Indian Arrows | Match 49 | Henry Kisekka | Mohun Bagan | Match 86 | Nenad Novaković | Churchill Brothers |
| Match 13 | Danish Farooq | Real Kashmir | Match 50 | Eduardo Ferreira | NEROCA | Match 87 | Pedro Manzi | Chennai City |
| Match 14 | Malemngamba Meitei | NEROCA | Match 51 | Jobby Justin | East Bengal | Match 88 | Laldanmawia Ralte | East Bengal |
| Match 15 | Lancine Touré | Minerva Punjab | Match 52 | Alfred Jaryan | Aizawl | Match 89 | Henry Kisekka | Mohun Bagan |
| Match 16 | Aser Pierrick Dipanda | Mohun Bagan | Match 53 | Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | Match 90 | Marcus Joseph | Gokulam Kerala |
| Match 17 | Felix Chidi Odili | NEROCA | Match 54 | Nickson Castanha | Churchill Brothers | Match 91 | Lalrindika Ralte | East Bengal |
| Match 18 | Gani Nigam | Gokulam Kerala | Match 55 | Subhash Singh | NEROCA | Match 92 | match not held | match not held |
| Match 19 | Edwin Sydney Vanspaul | Chennai City | Match 56 | Pedro Manzi | Chennai City | Match 93 | Pedro Manzi | Chennai City |
| Match 20 | Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers | Match 57 | Anwar Ali | Indian Arrows | Match 94 | Naorem Mahesh Singh | Shillong Lajong |
| Match 21 | Kabir Thaufiq | Chennai City | Match 58 | Anthony Wolfe | Churchill Brothers | Match 95 | Juan Quero | Minerva Punjab |
| Match 22 | Rajesh S | Gokulam Kerala | Match 59 | Mason Robertson | Real Kashmir | Match 96 | Suresh Singh Wangjam | Indian Arrows |
| Match 23 | Aser Pierrick Dipanda | Mohun Bagan | Match 60 | Jobby Justin | East Bengal | Match 97 | Néstor Gordillo | Chennai City |
| Match 24 | Novin Gurung | Shillong Lajong | Match 61 | Omar Elhussieny | Mohun Bagan | Match 98 | Léonce Dodoz | Aizawl |
| Match 25 | Léonce Dodoz Zikahi | Aizawl | Match 62 | Dawda Ceesay | Churchill Brothers | Match 99 | Enrique Esqueda | East Bengal |
| Match 26 | Néstor Gordillo | Chennai City | Match 63 | Alfred Jaryan | Aizawl | Match 100 | Lalkhawpuimawia | Aizawl |
| Match 27 | Bazie Armand | Real Kashmir | Match 64 | Shilton Paul | Mohun Bagan | Match 101 | Rahul Kannoly Praveen | Indian Arrows |
| Match 28 | Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers | Match 65 | Lalengmawia | Indian Arrows | Match 102 | Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers |
| Match 29 | Arjun Jayaraj | Gokulam Kerala | Match 66 | Alexander Romario | Chennai City | Match 103 | Laldanmawia Ralte | East Bengal |
| Match 30 | Philip Njoku | Minerva Punjab | Match 67 | Borja Gómez Pérez | East Bengal | Match 104 | Daniel Addo | Gokulam Kerala |
| Match 31 | Sony Norde | Mohun Bagan | Match 68 | Sandro Rodríguez | Chennai City | Match 105 | Paul Ramfangzauva | Aizawl |
| Match 32 | Subhash Singh | NEROCA | Match 69 | Marcus Joseph | Gokulam Kerala | Match 106 | Phrangki Buam | Shillong Lajong |
| Match 33 | William Opoku | Minerva Punjab | Match 70 | Phurba Lachenpa | Shillong Lajong | Match 107 | Lalawmpuia | Aizawl |
| Match 34 | Bazie Armand | Real Kashmir | Match 71 | Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers | Match 108 | Danish Farooq | Real Kashmir |
| Match 35 | Felix Chidi Odili | NEROCA | Match 72 | Phurba Lachenpa | Shillong Lajong | Match 109 | Laldanmawia Ralte | East Bengal |
| Match 36 | Jobby Justin | East Bengal | Match 73 | Willis Plaza | Churchill Brothers | Match 110 | Gaurav Bora | Chennai City |
| Match 37 | Israil Gurung | Churchill Brothers | Match 74 | Malemngamba Meitei | NEROCA |