Field Vision

Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 is finally back after the international break. In the first match after the restart, Owen Coyle’s Chennaiyin FC completed a fantastic comeback against NorthEast United FC to snatch all three points at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati.

NorthEast United FC took an early lead at home as Nestor scored from a fantastic counter-attack for the home side. The Marina Machans quickly turned around the game with birthday boy Wilmar Jordan Gil netting a brace against his former team and Brazilian midfielder Lukas Brambilla’s first-ever ISL goal from the penalty spot. Despite a 3-1 lead for Chennai, the match was still far from over.

Chennaiyin right-back Laldinliana Renthlei got red-carded in the 83rd minute and gave the home side a slight opening to get something out of this match. Soon after this, NorthEast won a penalty. Their Moroccan forward Alaeddine Ajaraie stepped up and converted from the spot to make the scoreline 2-3 (Ajaraie’s 5th goal in 5 matches). The Marina Machans managed to see off the final few minutes and secured their second victory in ISL 2024-25.

Despite winning their first match against newcomers Mohammedan Sporting Club, NorthEast have gone winless in their last four ISL matches. With only 5 points from 5 games, they are now in the 8th position in the ISL 2024-25 table. All the momentum that the Highlanders had after winning the Durand Cup 2024 seems to be gone.

In the opening five games of the ISL, NorthEast United played an attacking brand of football. They created openings, dominated teams, and looked threatening in almost every match. In fact, Juan Pedro Benali’s side took the lead in all the matches of this season. So, what has been their issue? Why are NorthEast United failing to rack up wins this season? Let’s take a look at this.

Set-Piece Defending: NorthEast’s Biggest Issue

Set-piece defending has been one of the major concerns for NorthEast so far in this season’s ISL. In their most recent defeat against Chennaiyin, they conceded the first goal from an inswinging corner of Connor Shields when Colombian striker Wilmar Jordan Gil shrugged off his marker and found the back of the net with a bullet header. After a few minutes, Chennaiyin captain Ryan Edwards got fouled in the box during a corner. It resulted in a penalty goal for the Marina Machans.

Then, in the second half, NorthEast conceded yet another goal from the set-piece. Despite clearing corner, the team switched off momentarily as Laldinliana’s deep cross found Wilmar Jordan, and the Colombian netted his second goal. Now, if this match was not an indication, let’s get back to NorthEast United’s 2-3 defeat against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata.

Having taken an early lead through Mohamed Ali Bemammer, NorthEast United conceded a goal against the run of play when Dimitri Petratos’ delicious delivery from a freekick was headed home by Dippendu Biswas. The Highlanders took the lead for the second time in the game, with Alaeddine Ajaraie finishing from a brilliant move.

But their lead was short-lived as Subhasish Bose netted the equaliser – once again from a set-piece. Stewert’s cross from the return ball of a corner found MBSG defender Tom Aldred, whose header was not gathered properly by NorthEast custodian Gurmeet Singh. The loose ball fell to Mohun Bagan’s captain, who punished NorthEast for their mistake in the box.

Set-pieces are always great opportunities for teams to break past their opponent (especially against teams that use low blocks to defend). We have often seen set-pieces being the difference between teams in the close matches. A team with a good set-piece routine can turn one point into three points or zero points into a point. As an example, we can look at last year’s Arsenal. The Gunners turned drawing games into winning games on thirteen occasions and competed for the Premier League.

However, with more data available nowadays, teams are better equipped to defend set-piece situations. If we refer to the English Premier League again, 28.5% of goals came from set-pieces in the 2010-11 season. In comparison, only 19.45% of goals came from set-pieces in the 2023-24 season. Despite the steep drop, set-pieces are still considered one of the most essential parts of the game.

Many teams defend set pieces in many ways. Some use zonal marking to defend zones, while others use man-to-man marking to cut off opponent attackers. We also see a mixture of zonal and man-to-man marking in set-piece defences. In this system, some defenders defend the most volatile zones while others mark the biggest aerial threats of the attacking team.

For NorthEast, the main issue while defending the set-piece situations has been their poor marking. On many occasions, their opponents have got free headers in the box. Even when they managed to clear the set-piece, they switched off during the return ball, resulting in goals. Every team is keeping an eye on this glaring weakness. NorthEast will be challenged even more in this area in the upcoming matches. Juan Pedro Benali’s side will have to improve quickly, or this might become the main difference between playoffs and the bottom half of the table.