2017–18 Chennaiyin FC season

Chennaiyin
2017-2018 season
Head Coach	John Gregory
Stadium	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
ISL	2nd
ISL finals	Champions
Top goalscorer	League: Jeje Lalpekhlua ; (9 goals); All: Jeje Lalpekhlua ; (9 goals)
Highest home attendance	19,013
Lowest home attendance	12,499
Average home league attendance	15,538
Biggest win	3–0 (vs NorthEast United on 23 Nov 2017) ; 3–0 (vs Goa on 13 Mar 2018)
Biggest defeat	1–3 (vs NorthEast United on 19 January 2018) ; 1–3 (vs Bengaluru on 6 February 2018)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2016 2018–19 →
	All statistics correct as of 13 March 2018.

The 2017–18 Chennaiyin FC season was the club's fourth season since its establishment in 2014 and their fourth season in the Indian Super League.

Transfers

Pre-season

In: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	POR	Sereno (from Almería)
6	MF	IND	Bikramjit Singh (from Mohun Bagan)
7	FW	NED	Gregory Nelson (from Al-Muharraq)
8	MF	ESP	Jaime Gavilán (from Suwon)
9	FW	NGA	Jude Nworuh (from Ilves)
10	MF	SVN	Rene Mihelič (from Riga)
11	MF	IND	Thoi Singh (loan return from Mumbai)
12	FW	IND	Jeje Lalpekhlua (loan return from Mohun Bagan)
14	DF	ESP	Iñigo Calderón (from Anorthosis Famagusta)
17	FW	IND	Dhanpal Ganesh (loan return from Chennai City)
18	DF	IND	Jerry Lalrinzuala (loan return from DSK Shivajians)
19	MF	BRA	Raphael Augusto (loan return from Bangu)
20	FW	IND	Mohammed Rafi (from Kerala Blasters)
27	DF	BRA	Maílson Alves (from Voltaço)
28	MF	IND	Germanpreet Singh (from Minerva Punjab)
29	DF	IND	Fulganco Cardozo (from Churchill Brothers)
30	MF	IND	Francis Fernandes (from Pune City)
32	DF	IND	Keenan Almeida (from Goa)
33	DF	IND	Sanjay Balmuchu (from Goa)
36	GK	IND	Shahinlal Meloly (from Chennai City)

Out: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	BRA	Éder
3	DF	IND	Nallappan Mohanraj (to ATK)
4	MF	NED	Hans Mulder (to Eldense)
5	DF	FRA	Bernard Mendy
6	DF	NOR	John Arne Riise
7	MF	IND	Harmanjot Khabra (to Bengaluru)
8	MF	ITA	Manuele Blasi
9	FW	ITA	Davide Succi (to Forlì)
10	FW	IND	Jayesh Rane (to ATK)
11	MF	IND	Thoi Singh (loan to Mumbai)
12	FW	IND	Jeje Lalpekhlua (loan to Mohun Bagan)
13	DF	BRA	Eli Sabiá (to Al-Raed)
15	DF	IND	Abhishek Das (to Mohun Bagan)
16	FW	IND	Daniel Lalhlimpuia (loan return to Bengaluru)
17	FW	IND	Dhanpal Ganesh (loan to Chennai City)
18	MF	IND	Siam Hanghal (to Kerala Blasters, previously on loan to Mumbai)
19	MF	BRA	Raphael Augusto (loan to Bangu)
20	FW	ITA	Maurizio Peluso (to L'Aquila)
21	FW	IND	Uttam Rai (to Mohun Bagan, previously on loan to Minerva Punjab)
22	MF	IND	Zakeer Mundampara (to Mumbai City, previously on loan to Chennai City)
26	DF	IND	Mehrajuddin Wadoo (to Sporting Goa)
27	GK	JAM	Duwayne Kerr
33	FW	IND	Baljit Sahni (to Mumbai)
43	DF	IND	Jerry Lalrinzuala (loan to DSK Shivajians)
99	FW	NGA	Dudu

Squad

As of 15 September 2017^[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	IND	Karanjit Singh
2	DF	POR	Henrique Sereno (Captain)
6	MF	IND	Bikramjit Singh
7	FW	NED	Gregory Nelson
8	MF	ESP	Jaime Gavilán (3rd captain)
9	FW	NGA	Jude Nworuh
10	MF	SVN	Rene Mihelič
11	MF	IND	Thoi Singh
12	FW	IND	Jeje Lalpekhlua
13	GK	IND	Pawan Kumar
14	DF	ESP	Iñigo Calderón (Vice Captain)
15	MF	IND	Anirudh Thapa
17	MF	IND	Dhanpal Ganesh


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	DF	IND	Jerry Lalrinzuala
19	MF	BRA	Raphael Augusto
20	FW	IND	Mohammed Rafi
21	FW	IND	Baoringdao Bodo
25	DF	IND	Dhanachandra Singh
27	DF	BRA	Maílson Alves
28	MF	IND	Germanpreet Singh
29	DF	IND	Fulganco Cardozo
30	MF	IND	Francis Fernandes
32	DF	IND	Keenan Almeida
33	DF	IND	Sanjay Balmuchu
36	GK	IND	Shahinlal Meloly

Technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	John Gregory
Assistant coach	Mark Lillis
Assistant coach	Syed Sabir Pasha
Sports scientist	Niall Clark
Goalkeeping coach	Tony Warner
Physiotherapist	Robert Gilbert

Competitions

Indian Super League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Bengaluru	18	13	1	4	35	16	+19	40	Qualification for ISL play-offs
2	Chennaiyin^[a] (C)	18	9	5	4	24	19	+5	32
3	Goa	18	9	3	6	42	28	+14	30
4	Pune City	18	9	3	6	30	21	+9	30
5	Jamshedpur	18	7	5	6	16	18	−2	26

Source: Indian Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) fair play ranking; 6) drawing of lots
(C) Champions

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	9	5	4	24	19	+5	32	4	3	2	15	12	+3	5	2	2	9	7	+2

Last updated: 3 March 2018.
Source: Matches

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	L	W	W	W	L	W	D	W	D	W	L	W	L	D	W	D	D	W
Position	9	3	2	3	3	2	1	1	2	1	2	2	2	4	3	3	3	2

Updated to match(es) played on 3 March 2018. Source: Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Win Draw Loss

League stage

19 November 2017 1	Chennaiyin FC	2–3	Goa	Chennai, India
17:30 IST (UTC+5:30)	Karanjit Singh 41' Bikramjit Singh 55' Iñigo Calderón 70' Raphael Augusto 80' 84' (pen.)	Report	Ferran Corominas 25' Manuel Lanzarote 29' Mandar Rao Dessai 38' Brandon Fernandes 60'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 18213 MVP: Manuel Lanzarote (FC Goa)

23 November 2017 2	Chennaiyin FC	3–0	NorthEast United	Chennai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Hakku Nediyodath 11' (o.g.) Raphael Augusto 24' Dhanpal Ganesh 55' Maílson Alves 81' Mohammed Rafi 84'	Report	Marcinho 57' Danilo 87'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 16795 Referee: Santhosh Kumar MVP: Raphael Augusto (Chennaiyin FC)

3 December 2017 3	Pune City	0–1	Chennaiyin FC	Pune, India
17:30 IST (UTC+5:30)	Adil Khan 54'	Report	Iñigo Calderón 18' Henrique Sereno 50' 82' Dhanpal Ganesh 60' Anirudh Thapa 78'	Stadium: Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Attendance: 9881 Referee: Ajit Meetei MVP: Jerry Lalrinzuala (Chennaiyin FC)

7 December 2017 4	Chennaiyin FC	3–2	ATK	Chennai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Henrique Sereno 41' Jeje Lalpekhlua 65', 90' Gregory Nelson 74' Iñigo Calderón 84' Dhanpal Ganesh 90'	Report	Zequinha 77' Njazi Kuqi 89'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 17192 Referee: Santhosh Kumar MVP: Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC)

10 December 2017 5	Mumbai City	1–0	Chennaiyin FC	Mumbai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Davinder Singh 6' Lucian Goian 19' Abhinas Ruidas 53' Achille Emana 60' Sehnaj Singh 70'	Report	Iñigo Calderón 35' Maílson Alves 59'	Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena Attendance: 7112 Referee: Ranjit Bhakshi MVP: Achille Emana (Mumbai City FC)

17 December 2017 6	Bengaluru	1–2	Chennaiyin FC	Bengaluru, India
17:30 IST (UTC+5:30)	Harmanjot Khabra 13' Sunil Chhetri 85'	Report	Jeje Lalpekhlua 5' Mailson Alves 64' Jerry Lalrinzuala 67' Dhanpal Ganesh 82' 88'	Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 21924 Referee: Raktim Shah MVP: Mailson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)

22 December 2017 7	Chennaiyin FC	1–1	Kerala Blasters	Chennai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Raphael Augusto 53' Henrique Sereno 83' Rene Mihelic 89'	Report	Siam Hanghal 68' Sandesh Jhingan 88' C.K. Vineeth 90'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 16754 Referee: Pranjal Banerji MVP: Karanjit Singh (Chennaiyin FC)

28 December 2017 8	Jamshedpur	0–1	Chennaiyin FC	Jamshedpur, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Mehtab Hossain 24' Sameehg Doutie 85'	Report	Gregory Nelson 28' Henrique Sereno 39' Jeje Lalpekhlua 41' Germanpreet Singh 82' Rene Mihelic 90'	Stadium: JRD Tata Sports Complex Attendance: 24212 Referee: Ranjit Bhakshi MVP: Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC)

7 January 2018 9	Chennaiyin FC	2–2	Delhi Dynamos	Chennai, India
17:30 IST (UTC+5:30)	Jeje Lalpekhlua 42', 51'	Report	David Ngaihte 24' Guyon Fernandez 90'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 14991 Referee: O.Thakur MVP: Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC)

13 January 2018 10	Chennaiyin FC	1–0	Pune City	Chennai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Iñigo Calderón 18' Dhanpal Ganesh 28' Gregory Nelson 83'	Report	Emiliano Alfaro 9' Marcos Tebar 51'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 13992 Referee: Raktim Shah MVP: Mailson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)

19 January 2018 11	NorthEast United	3–1	Chennaiyin FC	Guwahati, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Seiminlen Doungel 42', 46', 68' 62'	Report	Henrique Sereno 20' Gregory Nelson 74' Anirudh Thapa 79' Dhanpal Ganesh 90'	Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Attendance: 3211 Referee: Ranjit Bhakshi MVP: Seiminlen Doungel (NorthEast United)

25 January 2018 12	ATK	1–2	Chennaiyin FC	Kolkata, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Ryan Taylor 22' Shankar Sampingiraj 39' Martin Paterson 44' Ashutosh Mehta 84'	Report	Mailson Alves 52' Jeje Lalpekhlua 64' 90' Jerry Lalrinzuala 89'	Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium Attendance: 10065 Referee: Raul Gupta MVP: Anirudh Thapa (Chennaiyin FC)

6 February 2018 13	Chennaiyin FC	1–3	Bengaluru	Chennai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Henrique Sereno 10' 71' Francis Fernandes 33' Dhanpal Ganesh 43'	Report	Boithang Haokip 2' 55' John Johnson 51' Dimas Delgado 53' Miku 63' Sunil Chhetri 90'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 12499 Referee: Pranjal Banerji MVP: Dimas Delgado (Bengaluru FC)

11 February 2018 14	Delhi Dynamos	1–1	Chennaiyin FC	Delhi, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Kalu Uche 59' (pen)	Report	Mailson Alves 81'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Delhi) Attendance: 3784 MVP: Mailson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)

15 February 2018 15	Goa	0–1	Chennaiyin FC	Goa, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Ferran Corominas 61' Manuel Lanzarote 79'	Report	Dhanpal Ganesh 10' Iñigo Calderón 53' Bikramjit Singh 65' Gregory Nelson 79' Rene Mihelic 81' Karanjit Singh 90'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 16842 Referee: O.Thakur MVP: Mailson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)

18 February 2018 16	Chennaiyin FC	1–1	Jamshedpur	Chennai, India
17:30 IST (UTC+5:30)	Mailson Alves 71' Henrique Sereno 76' Mohammed Rafi 89'	Report	Wellington Priori 32' 76'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 13195 Referee: A.Lairenlakpam MVP: Wellington Priori (Jamshedpur FC)

23 February 2018 17	Kerala Blasters	0–0	Chennaiyin FC	Kochi, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	C.K. Vineeth 87'	Report	Henrique Sereno 80'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi) Attendance: 31259 Referee: M.Conger MVP: Karanjit Singh (Chennaiyin FC)

3 March 2018 18	Chennaiyin FC	1–0	Mumbai City	Chennai, India
20:00 IST (UTC+5:30)	Rene Mihelic 67' (pen.) Germanpreet Singh 90'	Report	Zakeer Mundampara 19' Leo Costa 22' Sehnaj Singh 83'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 12733 Referee: A.Rowan MVP: Jaime Gavilán (Chennaiyin FC)

Playoffs

10 March 2018 Semi-Finals	Goa	1–1	Chennaiyin FC	Goa, India
20:00 IST	Manuel Lanzarote 64' 77'	Report	Jerry Lalrinzuala 27' Anirudh Thapa 71' Henrique Sereno 90' Mailson Alves 90'	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 18492 Referee: Santhosh Kumar MVP: Gregory Nelson (Chennaiyin FC)

13 March 2018 Semi-Finals	Chennaiyin FC	3–0 (agg. 4–1)	Goa	Chennai, India
20:00 IST	Dhanpal Ganesh 13' 29' Jeje Lalpekhlua 26', 90' Raphael Augusto 60' Jaime Gavilan 89'	Report	Hugo Boumous 60' Seriton Fernandes 62' Ferran Corominas 64'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai) Attendance: 19013 Referee: Turki Al Khudair MVP: Mailson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)

Final

17 March 2018 Final	Bengaluru	2–3	Chennaiyin FC	Bengaluru, India
20:00 IST	Sunil Chhetri 7' 85' Lenny Rodrigues 78' Miku 90'	Report	Maílson Alves 17', 45' Gregory Nelson 22' Raphael Augusto 67'	Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 25,753 Referee: Ali Abdulnabi MVP: Maílson Alves (Chennaiyin FC)

Indian Super Cup

As one of the top six teams in Indian Super League, Chennaiyin FC qualified for the main round in 2018 Indian Super Cup. Chennaiyin FC will meet the fifth placed I-League side Aizawl F.C. in Round of 16 match.^[2]

31 March 2018 Round of 16	Chennaiyin FC	2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–5 p)	Aizawl	Bhubaneswar, India
20:00 IST	Dhanpal Ganesh 34' Bikramjit Singh 52' Maílson Alves 89' 95' Dhanachandra Singh 114'	[1]	Andrei Ionescu 22', 91' Alfred K Jaryan 71'	Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Pranjal Banerjee
	Penalties
	Bikramjit Singh Mohammed Rafi Dhanachandra Singh Dhanpal Ganesh		Andrei Ionescu Dodoz Masih Saighani Lalchhawnkima H. Lalmuankima

Squad statistics

As of Match played 31 March 2018

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		ISL		Super Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	IND	Karanjit Singh	21	0	20	0	1	0
2	DF	POR	Henrique Sereno	18	1	18	1	0	0
6	MF	IND	Bikramjit Singh	16	0	14+1	0	0+1	0
7	FW	NED	Gregory Nelson	19	1	15+4	1	0	0
8	MF	ESP	Jaime Gavilán	14	0	4+9	0	1	0
9	FW	NGA	Jude Nworuh	11	0	4+6	0	1	0
10	MF	SVN	Rene Mihelič	14	2	8+6	2	0	0
11	MF	IND	Thoi Singh	11	0	5+5	0	0+1	0
12	FW	IND	Jeje Lalpekhlua	20	9	19+1	9	0	0
13	GK	IND	Pawan Kumar	1	0	1	0	0	0
14	DF	ESP	Iñigo Calderón	20	3	20	3	0	0
15	MF	IND	Anirudh Thapa	17	2	5+11	2	1	0
17	MF	IND	Dhanpal Ganesh	18	2	17	2	1	0
18	DF	IND	Jerry Lalrinzuala	21	0	20	0	1	0
19	MF	BRA	Raphael Augusto	18	3	14+4	3	0	0
20	FW	IND	Mohammed Rafi	9	2	2+6	2	1	0
21	FW	IND	Baoringdao Bodo	2	0	1+1	0	0	0
25	DF	IND	Dhanachandra Singh	4	1	3	0	1	1
27	DF	BRA	Maílson Alves	20	5	19	4	1	1
28	MF	IND	Germanpreet Singh	7	0	3+4	0	0	0
29	DF	IND	Fulganco Cardozo	1	0	1	0	0	0
30	MF	IND	Francis Fernandes	18	1	15+2	1	1	0
32	DF	IND	Keenan Almeida	5	0	3+1	0	1	0
33	DF	IND	Sanjay Balmuchu	1	0	0+1	0	0	0
36	GK	IND	Shahinlal Meloly	0	0	0	0	0	0
NA	MF	IND	Bedashwor Singh	1	0	0	0	0+1	0
Players who left Chennaiyin due to injury during the season:

Goal scorers

Place	Position	Number	Name	ISL	Super Cup	Total
1	FW	12	Jeje Lalpekhlua	9	0	9
2	DF	27	Mailson Alves	4	1	5
3	DF	14	Iñigo Calderón	3	0	3
3	MF	19	Raphael Augusto	3	0	3
5	FW	20	Mohammed Rafi	2	0	2
	MF	10	Rene Mihelič	2	0	2
	MF	15	Anirudh Thapa	2	0	2
	MF	17	Dhanpal Ganesh	2	0	2
9	DF	2	Henrique Sereno	1	0	1
	MF	7	Gregory Nelson	1	0	1
	MF	30	Francis Fernandes	1	0	1
	DF	25	Dhanachandra Singh	0	1	1
			Own goal	1	0	1
			TOTALS	31	2	33

Clean sheets

Rank	No.	Pos	Player	ISL	Total
1	1	GK	Karanjit Singh	7	7
2	13	GK	Pawan Kumar	1	1
3	36	GK	Shahinlal Meloly	0	0
TOTALS				8	8

Disciplinary record

Number	Nation	Position	Name
Number	Nation	Position	Name	ISL			Super Cup			Total
1		GK	Karanjit Singh	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
2		DF	Henrique Sereno	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1	0
6		MF	Bikramjit Singh	2	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0
7		MF	Gregory Nelson	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
8		MF	Jaime Gavilán	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
10		MF	Rene Mihelič	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
12		FW	Jeje Lalpekhlua	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
14		DF	Iñigo Calderón	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
15		MF	Anirudh Thapa	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
17		MF	Dhanpal Ganesh	9	0	0	1	0	0	10	0	0
18		DF	Jerry Lalrinzuala	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
19		MF	Raphael Augusto	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
27		DF	Maílson Alves	5	0	0	1	0	0	6	0	0
28		MF	Germanpreet Singh	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
			TOTALS	47	1	0	3	0	0	50	1	0

Notes

^ Qualified for 2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs

References

^ "First-team". Chennaiyin Football Club. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
^ "Chennaiyin FC taking on Aizawl FC on Inaugural edition of Indian Super Cup round of 16 on 31st March 2018". supercup.in. 12 March 2018.

[2] Qualified for 2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs

[1] "First-team". Chennaiyin Football Club. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.

[3] "Chennaiyin FC taking on Aizawl FC on Inaugural edition of Indian Super Cup round of 16 on 31st March 2018". supercup.in. 12 March 2018.

[1]

[a]

[2]

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	9	5	4	24	19	+5	32	4	3	2	15	12	+3	5	2	2	9	7	+2

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	9	5	4	24	19	+5	32	4	3	2	15	12	+3	5	2	2	9	7	+2

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	9	5	4	24	19	+5	32	4	3	2	15	12	+3	5	2	2	9	7	+2