Lalitpur City FC has probably prepared the formula to win the franchise football title. Therefore, City not only won the Nepal Super League (NSL) title, but also defended it. He did not lose a single match in the entire tournament.

As long as there is talk of Nepal's league football, somewhere or the other, the story of 'Invincible' Lalitpur will come up. And the formula prepared by Lalitpur is good management. At the same time, you have to be able to keep the players and coaches happy.

'Not only winning the title, but defending it was a great achievement,' said Anant Tamang, the charioteer captain of Lalitpur who won the title for the second time in a row. The argument of "Captain Fantastic" was, "All this is possible with good management, not just because the players play." Coach Simon Grayson, what less? He also did not forget to thank the management of his team and he wanted to give the credit to the players more than himself.

Grayson, who has spent more than 40 years as a player and coach, said while being presented to the media, "I have seen a lot of football, even in the meantime, this success will be special for me." I came to Nepal to win the title. I spent about 7-8 weeks here. I am impressed with the performance of the Nepalese players. The main thing is that such a tournament is needed for the development of Nepali football and it should be expanded and organized.

^{From left to right, the best player Ayush Ghalan of Pokhara Thunders, the best goalkeeper Priso of Pokhara, the top scorer Ahmed Hijaji of Dhangadhi FC, the energetic player Mani Lama of Lalitpur City and the emerging player Santosh Khatri of Lalitpur. Ayush got Rs 250,000, Priso and Hijaji got Rs 150,000 each and Mani and Santosh got Rs 1 lakh each. Champion Lalitpur won Rs 80 lakh and runner-up Pokhara Rs 30 lakh. Photo: Hemant Shrestha/Kantipur} 

11-match unbeaten run

Lalitpur has probably forgotten to lose. That's why this team's unbeaten streak has reached 11. In football, the one who doesn't know how to lose wins. There may have been some ups and downs in the competition, but we deserved the title. I am extremely happy and proud of Lalitpur's performance,” Grayson added. Lalitpur won the title after winning three matches in a row after the second season. This time the title journey of the team was even more smooth and excellent.

Two foreign players Imoh Ezekiel and Papa Ibou Kebe scored for Lalitpur in the final at Dasharath Stadium. Sudil Rai scored a goal from Pokhara. The first half was unexpectedly disappointing. At the end of it, the excitement returned to the game after Ezekiel scored. At the 42nd minute of the game, Ezekiel headed Manoj Rai's pass and scored. This is his ninth goal in the NSL. He also topped the list of highest scorers. Sudil returned the equalizer in the 64th minute.

Stefan Sameer Winong's shot was blocked by Lalitpur goalkeeper Jeffrey Willi, but Sudil scored on the rebound. The decisive goal was possible in the 75th minute. Kebe scored after taking control of a sweet pass that Ezekiel weighed and measured. In terms of goals, this time there was a majority of foreign players. Lalitpur's captain Ananth was also of the opinion, "Compared to last season, the performance of the foreign players this time was better. Nepali players have got an opportunity to learn something from them.'' Reaching the final for the team was huge in itself. After losing the first two games in the league stage, Pokhara continued to perform well and made it to the finals. But this performance was not enough to win the title. Ayush Ghalan of Pokhara, who was declared the best player of the tournament, made a precise analysis about his team's defeat. His mature statement was, 'Winning mentality is needed to play in the finals, we lacked this in today's game.'