Scorelines conceal a fair bit, but never lie.
Two nights in a row, the two most impressive teams of last year's ISL have found their playoff hopes diminish rapidly through defeats.
Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa are arguably two of the most consistent teams in the ISL, making statements with good runs of form in the league stages of both 2014 and 2015. That they are also the only two teams to have retained the head coach from the first season also augured well for them coming into 2016.
They now rely almost entirely on providence to maintain their 100% record of reaching the playoffs.
One thing that has not changed is the core of both teams. But while the likes of Bernard Mendy and Lucio, to name just two key players from last season, are top-class performers, it has not helped that they have returned a year older.
Add to that the fact that Chennaiyin are without Stiven Mendoza and Goa without Leo Moura this season has just robbed them of that x-factor they had last year -- that ability to create something out of the narrowest of opportunity.
Given that Zico would have been looking to win against Atletico de Kolkata on Thursday, it was odd that he put up a compact line-up on a day when he had a lot of his impact players returning from injuries and suspensions. The back four was refurbished by two defensive midfielders, leaving a lot of work to do for wingers Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Desai, and forcing Jofre Gonzalez and Rafael Coelho to drop deep.
It left very few attacking outlets for the home side, who made a positive start but soon got run ragged by some delightful football from Kolkata.
Kolkata have the benefit of depth in their squad, and that was visible in the absence of Iain Hume and Sameehg Doutie from the XI. There were some delightful dinks and short passes from Javi Lara, Borja Fernandez and Helder Postiga, and it was perhaps a surprise the visitors did not score more than just the one goal in the first half.
With 24 minutes left on the clock, Zico made the switch to a pattern he perhaps ought to have begun with, sacrificing two defenders to put on Robin Singh and Raju Gaikwad. Not long after, he brought on Julio Cesar for Trindade, a clear indication of a 3-4-3 with caution to the wind.
Goa actually created three chances within four minutes of Robin's introduction. The wings started operating smoothly, and it was from the left flank that Mandar scored his first ISL goal of the season, taking the Indian goals tally to 24 in the process.
As former Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood would say later in the television analysis, perhaps Goa should have played the last 10 minutes with a bit more caution. They threw everything they had at Kolkata -- the actual word Westwood used was 'kamikaze' -- but may have made a critical miscalculation, though everything is easier said in hindsight.
Kolkata had two situations of three or four attackers against one defender. So far forward had the rest of the team disappeared in the dying minutes. Stephen Pearson scored off the second situation, and that immediately separated the two teams by seven points, with two matches each to play.
A draw would have given Goa hope of winning their last two games and knowing that they could still potentially leapfrog five teams. That window has now shrunk to four, and both Goa and Chennaiyin will keep an eye on Friday evening's match in Kochi between Kerala Blasters and FC Pune City, hoping both teams draw and only move up to 16.
Goa are probably out for all practical purposes, but if Chennaiyin and NorthEast United draw on Saturday, they have the chance to set a grandstand final week if they can beat Delhi Dynamos away on Sunday.
If all goes well, they will welcome Chennaiyin in their last league game on December 1 in a rematch of last year's final, and the loser will definitely be eliminated that evening, if not before that.
It has been that kind of season for both Marco Materazzi and Zico. Just like scorelines, points tables also tell you nothing but the truth.