ISL Matchweek 1: Who makes it to the first Team of the Week of the season?

Indian Super League (ISL), India's premier club football league, returned last week for its 11th season, and it had a blistering start, showcasing a brilliant attacking spectacle with an average of 2.83 goals per match.

The first match week of the season offered 17 goals in the six matches, including six of those goals in injury time. The excitement level of the first week was top-class as three of these injury-time goals proved to be the winners.

However, it wasn't a great start to the home teams as only one of the six host teams, was able to acquire a full three points in the first week.

Here, The Bridge is looking at the top-performing players of the first week who make it to the Team Of The Week in Matchweek-1 in ISL:

Goalkeeper:

The first match week was full of goals as there were only two clean sheets out of the 12 teams who hit the ground this week.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu - Bengaluru FC

The India international had a very good outing in the first week, where he managed a clean sheet against the East Bengal FC at home. He made a couple of brilliant saves in the match to help the team earn a full three points.

He kept East Bengal on the bay, who was trying many out-of-the-box shots against him, but he denied all of them with his alertness and made a few timely dives to keep his goal untouched.

Defenders:

The first week of the ISL wasn't a very good outing for the defenders but still, a few players impressed this week with their timely tackles and interceptions.

Stephen Eze - Jamshedpur FC

The Nigerian center-back had an outstanding outing this week and he was the key man in Jamshedpur's win against FC Goa in Fatorda Stadium. He stopped the Goan team who came in all guns blazing in the first half.

He has also made a lot of crucial interceptions to help his team turn the defense into attacks via counter-attacking play. In the final 10 minutes, he also helped the team in attack and had one shot on target as well.

Subhasish Bose - Mohun Bagan

The experienced Indian defender had a solid presence in the left flank of Mohun Bagan's defense and he also made a few timely tackles to stop the dangerous-looking Chhangte.

He also helped his winger Lison Colaco in the attack with his long balls and crosses. Subhasish also had a good passing percentage in the match, having 30 successful passes.

Mehtab Singh - Mumbai City FC

Mehtab Singh, playing as the center-back, solidified the defense of Mumbai City FC and held on to the powerful attacking lineup of Mohun Bagan FC.

He also helped in the build-up play of the team with his accurate passes, having 54 successful passes, most in the first week of the season.

Midfielders

Bipin Singh - Mumbai City FC

Bipin Singh made a good impact in the game against Mohun Bagan with his speedy runs and precise crosses from the left flank. He almost scored a goal in the first half but was caught in the offside position.

He has taken the most number of shots in the match for his club (4) and forced Vishal Kaith to name a couple of saves on his shots on target.

Jithin M.S - North East United FC

Jithin MS, who was the key man in the North East United FC triumph at the Durand Cup, started his ISL season on a high note, making a lot of dangerous runs in the penalty box.

He created a few good chances for his teammate and also took four fiery shots in the match. He was leading the northeast midfield line having five successful tackles and two interceptions.

Rowlin Borges - FC Goa

The experienced Indian midfielder, Rowlin Borges had a good outing in the home game against Jamshedpur, where he made an excellent assist for the striker Armando Sadiku.

He also created a few important through balls for his wingers to make wide runs in the opponent's penalty box.

Alexis Gomez - Mohammedan SC

The young Argentine forward had a great debut in the Indian Super League, catching many eyes because of his speedy runs in the penalty box. He made a lot of inroads in Northeast's defense.

He also sent a couple of good crosses into the box and took four shots towards the goal. He was the key man in Mohaamedan's front line and was part of most of their dangerous attacks.

Farkuh Chaudhary - Chennaiyin FC

Farukh was one of the most impressive Indian players of the first week, making a lot of deadly runs in the defense of Odisha FC and hence scored a brace for Chennaiyin on the season opener.

He is currently the leader of the Golden Boot Award. He partnering with the forward Daniel Chima, made a delay combo in the attack of the team, with each of them having two shots on target each.

Forwards:

The first week of the ISL proved to be a treat for the forwards as many strikers made their debut goals for the club.

Daniel Chima Chukwu - Chennaiyin FC

The star striker, Daniel Chukwu, had an outstanding outing on his debut for Chennaiyin FC in ISL, scoring his first goal of the season with a brilliant in the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.

His movement in the penalty box was troubling the defense of Odisha FC. He also troubled their goalkeeper, having taken four shots overall and two of them on the target.

Armando Sadiku - FC Goa

The Albanian striker, Armando Sadiku, scored his first goal of the season against Jamshedpur FC in a match where he was completely dominating the attacking play of FC Goa.

He tested Jamshedpur's goalkeeper, Albino Gomes on numerous occasions and has taken the most number of shots (7) in the first week.