The 2017–18 Indian Super League playoffs was fourth playoffs series in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

, one of the top Indian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

leagues. The playoffs began on 7 March 2018 and concluded with the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

on 17 March 2018 in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. The top four teams from the 2017–18 ISL regular season had qualified for the playoffs. The semi-finals took place over two legs while the final was a one-off match at the

Sree Kanteerava Stadium Sree Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium, also known as Sampangi Outdoor Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Bangalore, India. It houses a running track, a volleyball court, and two outdoor rock climbing walls. The stadium is owned by the Department o ...

Chennaiyin Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded in Au ...

won the final after defeating

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

3–2. This would be the second time that Chennaiyin won the title. The defending champions from last season, ATK, failed to qualify for the playoffs this season and thus were not able to defend their title.

Season table

Teams

, a new expansion side in the

, were the first side to qualify for the playoffs on 9 February 2018. The side managed to qualify after only 15 matches and having gained 33 points.

Pune City Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

became the second side to qualify for the playoffs after

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

, another new expansion side, were defeated by Bengaluru on 26 February. The victory for Bengaluru also ensured that they would finish the season at the top of the table.

, the 2015 ISL season champions, were the third side to confirm their qualification for the playoffs on 27 February. This was due to

Mumbai City Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

suffering defeat to

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

. The last spot in the playoffs was not decided until the last match day of the regular season when

hosted

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

at the

Kalinga Stadium The Kalinga Stadium is a multi-purpose International stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Its foundation stone was laid by former chief minister of Odisha Late Biju Patnaik in 1978. It is the home ground of the I League Club Indian Arrows si ...

. Both Jamshedpur and Goa were the only two sides eligible for that last spot. Goa would go on to win the match 3–0 and thus became the final team to qualify for the playoffs.

Bracket

Semi-finals

Leg 1

----

Leg 2

''Bengaluru won 3–1 on aggregate'' ---- ''Chennaiyin won 4–1 on aggregate''

Final

Goalscorers

;4 goals *

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Widely regarded as the greatest Indian footballer of all time, h ...

(Bengaluru) ;2 goals *

Jeje Lalpekhlua Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai (born 7 January 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker, and last appeared with Indian Super League club East Bengal. Between 2011 and 2019, he scored 23 goals in 56 international matches represe ...

(Chennaiyin) * Maílson Alves (Chennaiyin) ;1 goal *

Manuel Lanzarote Manuel 'Manu' Lanzarote Bruno (born 20 January 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left winger or an attacking midfielder. He amassed Segunda División totals of 151 matches and 37 goals over six seasons, represent ...

(Goa) *

Anirudh Thapa Anirudh Thapa (born 15 January 1998) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin, which he captains, and the India national football team. Club career Early life and youth career Th ...

(Chennaiyin) * Jonatan Lucca (Pune City) *

Dhanpal Ganesh Dhanpal Ganesh (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder (association football), midfielder for Chennaiyin FC, Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League. Career Pune Born in Chennai, ...

(Chennaiyin) * Raphael Augusto (Chennaiyin) * Miku (Bengaluru)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018 Indian Super League final 2017–18 Indian Super League season