The 2024-25 season of the Indian Super League is in full swing, and with games coming thick and fast, this is a convenient place to catch up on every match. We'll have a report after every match, right up to the rest day signalling the end of the matchweek.
ISL Standings | ISL Results and Fixtures
The report on all matches from matchweek 8 is here.
Here are the details for matchweek 9 of ISL 2024-25 with the latest match report coming first:
Mohammedan SC 1 - 2 Bengaluru FC
(Manzoko 8' - Chhetri (P) 81', 90+9')
Bengaluru FC climbed back to the top of the ISL standings after stealing a late win away to Mohammedan Sporting, with Cesar Manzoki and Sunil Chhetri finding the net.
Franca went close for the hosts early on, with some excellent defending denying him. BFC weren't able to stop Mohammedan soon after, as Cesar Manzoki opened the scoring in the eighth minute. The striker leapt high as a corner from Mirjalol Kasimov came in, and headed home, unmarked. There were penalty shouts for both teams, but none came to fruition as Mohammedan went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
There were more penalty shouts, and opportunities for both teams to score, with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Bhaskar Roy making some great saves in either net. The telling moment came in the 79th minute, when Manzoki turned villain and conceded a penalty, dragging down Pedro Capo in the box. Sunil Chhetri stepped up and converted with aplomb, thus becoming the only player to score against every ISL team, and extend his scoring record to 65 goals.
Manzoki came close with a header off the post late on, as well as BFC having a shout for a penalty turned down. However, it was Chhetri who glanced in a deflected header at the far post in the ninth minute of injury time to steal a victory.
Mumbai City 0 - 3 Punjab FC
(Vidal 45'+1', Majcen 53' (P), Bakenga 84')
Punjab FC thoroughly outclassed Mumbai City in the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday, the 3-0 scoreline a deserved reflection of their performance.
A very dull first half was lit up by Ezequiel Vidal, who bounced off the ground after a bad tackle to latch onto a Luka Majcen pass and smash Punjab ahead in the first minute of first half stoppage time. The second half was all Punjab, Majcen making it two with a calm penalty. Mushaga Bakenga replaced him late and made the three points theirs with a superb swivel and finish. This sees them rise to fourth in the table, with 15 points in 8.
How Punjab FC's Mushaga Bakenga channeled his inner Rashford to score a goal for life
On their part, the defending champions subbed off Lallianzuala Chhangte and Bipin Singh before the hour mark: an indication of how things were going on the pitch. The champions have looked lacklustre all season, and today was no different. They remain tenth in the league with 10 in 8, a point below the Kerala Blasters and just three ahead of Hyderabad.
Hyderabad 0 - 6 Odisha
(Isak 12', Mauricio 30', Jongte 51' (OG), Fall 70', Puitea 75', Ali 89')
Hyderabad's old defensive issues cropped up again after a demolition at the hands of Odisha FC on Monday, as they lost the home game 0-6.
Isak tucked in the first after a chaotic mess in the six-yard box from a Hugo Boumous pass. Mauricio made it two after passing it into an empty net after a save off a Puitea shot rebounded straight to him. Jongte was unfortunate as he tried to clear another six-yard box melee (this time almost on the goal line) but Jerry's pressure eventually told and the ball was bundled across the line. Goal #4 came from a familiar combo: Mourtada Fall scoring off an Ahmed Jahouh cross after a short corner routine. The surprise was that it was not his head - as he controlled the cross at the far post (in acres of space) and stabbed home superbly with his right foot. The fifth came when Mauricio danced into the box and cleverly set up Puitea, who smacked it first time into the net. The cherry on the cake was Rahim Ali placing a clever finish not the net after running in behind off Mauricio's through ball.
Kerala Blasters 3 - 0 Chennaiyin FC
(Jimenez 56', Sadaoui 70', Rahul 92')
Kerala Blasters beat Chennaiyin 3-0 in front of a charged home crowd thanks to goals from Jesus Jimenez, Noah Sadaoui and Rahul KP. Jimenez tucked in from close range after neat work from Adrian Luna and Sadaoui saw Korou Singh pass it to the Spanish striker, before Sadaoui doubled it off a simple Luna through ball. In injury time, Sadaoui screamed clear on a counter and unselfishly set up Rahul for an open goal tap-in.
As much as the result, though, it will be the performance that'll enthuse Blasters fans. The attacking triumvirate of Luna, Jimenez and Noah were outstanding, as was Kouro on the right wing, and they seemed to have improved their understanding of each other's games. Although Chennaiyin started strong, the Blasters got a control of midfield soon with Luna dropping deeper to help out Freddy and Vibin before the attackers took over in the opposition third. Only a desire to score more intricate goals seemed to keep the score at what it remained.
Mohun Bagan SG 3-0 Jamshedpur FC
(Tom Aldred 15', Liston Colaco 45+2', Maclaren 75')
Mohun Bagan climbed to the top of the table with a comprehensive win over Jamshedpur, extending their unbeaten streak against their opponents to five. Jamshedpur dropped out of the playoff places into seventh place, while Bagan leapfrogged Bengaluru FC into top spot of the ISL table.
Bagan took the lead in the 15th minute of the game courtesy Tom Aldred. Dimi Petratos' corner was half-cleared by Jamshedpur, and as the ball rebounded back into the box, Aldred volleyed powerfully home from close range. Jamshedpur had a chance to immediately equalize, but Jave Hernandez headed over a cross from the left.
The hosts doubled their lead in injury time of the first half, when Liston Colaco ended his scoring drought with a wonderful solo goal. Receiving the ball on the right edge of the box, he dribbled past three defenders and then burst into the box, keeping his composure as he dummied another two defenders before slotting the ball into the corner with his left foot - his first goal coming from his 28th shot of the season.
Rei Tachikawa stung Vishal Kaith's palms early in the second half as Jamshedpur looked to attack, but Bagan held them off. The game ended as a contest in the 75th minute, when Jamie Maclaren made it 3-0. Manvir Singh broke through JFC's offside trap, collected a long ball and evaded the challenge of the onrushing Albino Gomes, before squaring it to Maclaren who tapped into an empty net.
Jamshedpur attempted to reduce the margin, but Bagan were comfortable in defence, seeing out the game for an important victory.
Punjab FC 1-2 NorthEast United FC
(Ivan Novoselec 88', Guillermo Rodriguez 15', Nestor Albiach 18')
Alaeddine Ajaraie's incredible eight-game scoring run came to an end, but NorthEast United won their third game in four games to climb to third in the ISL table, defeating Punjab FC 2-1 despite playing the second half with 10 men. Guillermo Rodriguez and Nestor Albiach scored for the visitors, who conceded late to Ivan Novoselec but held on for the win.
Northeast United took the lead in the 15th minute, and it was no surprise as to who was involved. Ajaraie burst past Abhishek Singh on the left wing, and after dummying to shoot, sent in a low cross in the corridor of uncertainty - and despite Punjab keeper Ravi Kumar getting a touch, it squirmed under him and Guillermo Rodriguez tapped the ball home from a yard out.
The visitors doubled their lead a few minutes later, when Buanthanglun Samte sent in a peach of a cross from the left wing into the box. Nestor Albiach still had a fair bit to do, and struck it first time, volleying the ball home as it rocketed off his left foot and into the top corner, leaving Kumar no chance in the Punjab net as the hosts were down by two.
Punjab came close to dragging one back late in the first half, when Pulga Vidal hammered a shot off the crossbar from Nihal Sudeesh's cross. NorthEast's comfort came to an end in first-half injury time, when Dinesh Singh was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Juan Pedro Benali's side recessed in the second half, and NorthEast keeper Gurmeet came to the fore, making a great save from Filip Mrzljak in the 69th minute. The visitors held on until the 88th minute, when Gurmeet parried a shot from Asmir Suljic into the path of Ivan Novoselec in the box, and the defender made no mistake, reducing the margin to a single goal. However, NorthEast, who've dropped the most points in the league from winning positions, battened down the hatches and saw out seven minutes of injury time, to confirm a precious victory.