Kerala Blasters's hopes of making it to the semifinals of the Indian Super League received a shot in the arm after Delhi Dynamos crushed Mumbai City FC 5-1 on Tuesday.
Points table
The result means that Chennaiyin FC, who are in third, have qualified on goal difference, while Mumbai are now out of the running. That leaves Jamshedpur, Kerala and FC Goa in contention for the last spot.
Kerala Blasters will have to beat Bengaluru FC in their last game on March 1 to stand even a slim chance of progressing. Keeping this as a prerequisite ahead of Goa's game against ATK on Wednesday, one can consider the following scenarios:
Scenario 1: Goa beat ATK
If Goa win their match against ATK on Wednesday, it will make things difficult for Kerala. This is because Goa will then have 27 points before it plays Jamshedpur on March 4.
If either team wins that final game, Kerala, which will be on 28 points, will be out. If it is a draw, the Kochi-based team will still lose out to Goa on goal difference. (Surely, Kerala cannot beat Bengaluru by an eight-goal margin!)
Scenario 2: Goa lose to ATK
Should Goa lose the ATK game, Kerala will go through if Goa beat Jamshedpur or if the two teams draw that game. If Jamshedpur win, Kerala is out.
Scenario 3: Goa and ATK draw
If Wednesday's game is a draw, it will put Goa on par with Kerala on 25 points, albeit with a superior goal difference. Which means that only a draw in the last match between Goa and Jamshedpur will help Kerala advance after the Bengaluru victory.
Of course, all this depends on Kerala outplaying Bengaluru on Thursday. Even a draw will see the Blasters pack their bags and say goodbye to ISL 2017-18.