From table-toppers, Atletico de Kolkata have reached a do-or-die situation ahead of their final home game and coach Antonio Habas has blamed the slide on complacency and a taxing away schedule.
"As you know we were top in the first 10 rounds. Maybe we thought it was too easy for us and now it's difficult for us to get the results as we thought we were already in the semi-finals," he said after his side's 1-2 defeat against Mumbai City FC last night.
The eight-team league is wide open with Mumbai's win and all the teams have a chance to make the semis. Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa have, however, already booked a berth.
The former Bolivia coach said he is not too worried about their chances as they have a home game against FC Goa on Wednesday, where the Kolkata outfit could pick up the vital three points.
"We are not worried and we are not thinking about other games. We depend on ourselves. We have our home game on Wednesday and it depends on us, we have to win. We are not worried about Delhi or Kerala or other teams," he said, referring to the other teams' chances.
He was critical of the schedule and said he had never seen a league where a team played most of their last matches away.
"I trust my players and we will try our best in the next game. Obviously we wanted to get a point today but we couldn't and that is sport. I have never seen any feature on the wall when one team has to play four games away in the last five of the season. But there is nothing we can do about it," the Spaniard said.
Mumbai City FC coach Peter Reid was pleased with his side's performance and said they deserved to win.
"The young guns defended it well. I have got to give players a lot of credit. Due to the injuries we had to change formation three-to-four times and the players adapted really well. I thought it was a really good performance.
"Pavel (Cmovs) at the back and Asif (Kottayil) in the middle of the park was absolutely outstanding. It was a good performance and I think it was a result we just about deserved against a good side," he said.
