Another ISL league stage is done, and what a cracker it was. The race for the title was nowhere near as tight as last season's -- Mohun Bagan's dominance untouchable -- but behind them clubs endured topsy-turvy seasons to keep things interesting till the very end (almost).
Here's how each team has performed in the league stage of the 2024-25 season of the ISL:
Mohun Bagan Super Giant
Grade: A+(+)
Best player: Everyone? Ok, if you had to pick, captain Subhasish Bose.
What they did best: Win. Scored more and conceded less than anyone.
What they could've done better: Two losses are probably two too many for this unit.
One takeaway for next season: Jose Molina just has to keep doing what he's doing.
FC Goa
Grade: A
Best player: A game-changing Indian attacker, or the defender who made them almost impossible to beat? Sandesh Jhingan probably just edges out Brison Fernandes.
What they did best: What all Manolo Marquez teams do - eke out results irrespective of performances. Seven of their 14 wins came by a single goal.
What they could've done better: Get off the blocks quicker. They had six points in their first six game.
One takeaway for next season: Keep Jhingan fit. And manage carefully the transition from Marquez to the new manager.
Bengaluru FC
Grade: A
Best player: Sunil Chhetri. 40 years old. Top Indian goal-scorer this season.
What they did best: Tailored everything to get the best out of Chhetri, be it the addition of more leaders in the squad, or the roles of Edgar Mendez and Ryan Williams.
What they could've done better: Not made so many individual errors leading to goals, particularly Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
One takeaway for next season: Wrap Chhetri in cotton wool and keep him going.
NorthEast United FC
Grade: A-
Best player: Hah. Alaaeddine Ajaraie, who had the greatest ISL season of all time.
What they did best: Give the ball to Ajaraie. They did also build a very neat, competitive squad.
What they could've done better: Perform in home games - strangely, they suffered from inconsistency at Guwahati (16 points at home vs 22 away) and that kept them away from the top.
One takeaway for next season: Keep Ajaraie. A deeper squad would also help Juan Pedro Benali's astute tactics and push them higher up the table
Jamshedpur FC
Grade: B
Best player: Javi Hernandez. The playmaker was at the heart of everything good they did in attack.
What they did best: Playing at home. (25 points in 12, very hard to beat)
What they could've done better: Playing away. (13 points in 12, far too easy to beat)
One takeaway for next season: Khalid Jamil must find a way to make sure his team doesn't drop points on their travels.
Mumbai City FC
Grade: C
Best player: Yoell van Nieff. Consistently excellent both as a protector of the defence, and a starter of attacks.
What they did best: Shut their defence down after three 3-0 defeats at home (19 goals conceded in 21 other games).
What they could've done better: Scoring so few with Lallianzuala Chhangte, Brandon Fernandes, Vikram Partap Singh and (10-goal striker) Nikos Karelis is inexcusable. Petr Kratky ought to have found more.
One takeaway for next season: Take the handbrakes off. This set of players could've been a potent attacking side.
Odisha FC
Grade: D-
Best player: Hugo Boumous. His inconsistency, though, reflected his team's.
What they did best: When they got it right, they were an attacking tour-de-force with goals coming from across the pitch.
What they could've done better: Ahmed Jahouh disappearing towards the end sums it all up: When it mattered, the team went AWOL.
One takeaway for next season: Improvements have to come across the board; and Sergio Lobera needs to find replacements for his aging talismans..
Kerala Blasters
Grade: D-
Best player: Jesus Jimenez (for the goals), Korou Singh (for the excitement).
What they did best: They entertained. When they played well there was superb wing play, when they didn't there were mistakes galore.
What they could've done better: Figure out a way to get Noah Sadaoui and Adrian Luna to sync better
One takeaway for next season: See above.
East Bengal
Grade: D-
Best player: Souvik Chakrabarti. The only East Bengal player who can say he had a consistent season.
What they did best: They showed real ambition with their signings, and the quality showed at times, particularly towards the end of the season.
What they could've done better: Zero points in their first six games was unacceptable, and they were always playing catch-up from there.
One takeaway for next season: Mahesh is a winger, he's at his best in that position. There's no reason to make him a no.10.
Punjab FC
Grade: D
Best player: Ezequiel Vidal. Gave Punjab an extra cutting edge in attack
What they did best: Give youth a chance (most number of minutes to teenage and dev team players in the ISL, 7200), including ISL's youngest ever goalscorer: Singamayum Shami.
What they could've done better: Not fade away during the second half of the season. When the going got tough, the team couldn't handle the pressure.
One takeaway for next season: They started the season superbly, and if they find a way to bottle that and keep it going, they'll do well.
Chennaiyin FC
Grade: E
Best player: Connor Shields -- he had the most assists in the league, and his off-the-ball work was outstanding.
What they did best: Playing against Jamshedpur. Owen Coyle's team scored 10 goals in 2 games against his old team.
What they could've done better: Playing against every other team. Defensively fragile, offensively toothless.
One takeaway for next season: Use the squad better. Kiyan Nassiri and Gurkirat Singh were signed amidst large fanfare, but barely even featured for them this season
Hyderabad FC
Grade: D-
Best player: Andrei Alba was solid in midfield and chipped in with goals.
What they did best: Play against the big teams. Compact in their low back and dangerous on the counter, they proved they can take on any side on their day.
What they could've done better: Perform against the more beatable teams around them, when individual errors often cost them.
One takeaway for next season: They have the outline of a decent team, iron out the mistakes and they could be a tough nut to crack.
Mohammedan SC
Grade: F
Best player: The bar is woefully low, but late addition Robi Hansda was showed some real spark towards the end.
What they did best: Showed glimpses of potential, like when they beat BFC away (not easy this season).
What they could've done better: Most things about running a football club. Coach Andrei Chernyshov even left the club mid-season because he hadn't been paid.
One takeaway for next season: Debut ISL seasons are tough for promoted teams. Mohammedan will be better for the experience, but only should they choose to use it realise the professionalism needed for success at this level.