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.
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The report on all matches from matchweek 19 is here.
Here are the details for matchweek 20 of ISL 2024-25 with the latest match report coming first:
Odisha FC 1-1 Punjab FC
(Isak Ralte 52', Petros Giakoumakis 45+2')
10-man Odisha earned a creditable point at home to Punjab FC, with Rahul KP being sent off on the stroke of half-time and goals either side of the break. The result meant Odisha remained in seventh place, two points behind NorthEast in the final playoff spot, while Punjab are two points behind Odisha as well but have a game in hand.
After a tepid first half, the game spung to life when Rahul KP was sent off for a stamp on Filip Mrzljak in the 44th minute, and just three minutes later, 10-man Odisha found themselves 0-1 down in first-half injury time. Ricky John Shabong's clever first-time reverse pass saw Petros Giakoumakis break the offside trap running into the left side of the box, and he curled a finish past Amrinder Singh to give Punjab the lead going into the break.
The visitors then gifted the 10-men a way back into the game early in the second half, when Ravi Kumar dropped a Isak Ralte's low drive from a narrow angle, and watching in horror as the ball bounced beneath him and squeezed into the net, making it 1-1 in the 52nd minute. Punjab huffed and puffed for the rest of the second half, but could not fight the winner. They came close late on when Mrzljak's strike deflected onto the post and Rahim Ali blocked Luka Majcen's rebound. It was Odisha's turn to almost steal a winner in injury time, when Ralte laid the ball off for Hugo Boumous in the box, but Ravi Kumar redeemed himself with a point-blank save.
Bengaluru FC 3 - 0 Jamshedpur FC
(Mendez 43', Noguera 57', 82')
A series of errors from high-flying Jamshedpur FC saw Bengaluru FC register their first win of the 2025 calendar year. Edgar Mendez started things off by pressing Pratik Chaudhary --who dawdled on a drop ball - and robbing him off the ball before playing a simple 1-2 with Sunil Chhetri and passing it beyond an onrushing Albino Gomes. Alberto Noguera made it two with an inswinging freekick that evaded everyone in the box and wrong-footed Gomes.Rahul Bheke claimed he got a touch on the ball on the way in, but there was little evidence to support that. Noguera killed the game off late on when he pressed and robbed Lazar Cirkovic before giving Gomes the eyes and rolling it past him.
The scoreline was a touch harsh on the JFC keeper, who pulled off two stunning saves: off Mendez from close range, and off a well struck Chhetri penalty. Meanwhile, in the other goal Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was dropped after a series of poor performances, and his replacement Lalthuammawia Ralte had a solid outing.
The win sees BFC climb to fourth, just three points behind Jamshedpur (who still have a game in hand).
East Bengal 0-3 Chennaiyin FC
(Nishu Kumar (OG) 13', Wilmar Jordan Gil 22', Daniel Chima Chukwu 90+9')
East Bengal's hopes of making the ISL playoffs are virtually over after they fell to a 3-0 defeat to Chennaiyin FC at home on Saturday evening. East Bengal got off to the worst possible start, conceding twice in 22 minutes.
That 2-0 lead so early in the game was completed deserved as well, which was perhaps the biggest disappointment for Oscar Bruzon, his team just didn't show up. On the pitch, they couldn't deal with Connor Shields' energy and the intelligence of his movement. He set up the first, a Nishu Kumar own goal, and then played a part in Irfan Yadwad setting up Wilmar Jordan Gil to tap in their second.
East Bengal had Lalchungunga sent off late on, before Daniel Chima Chukwu added gloss to the scoreline for Chennaiyin in the ninth minute of second half stoppage time.
Hyderabad FC 3-1 Mohammedan SC
(Allan Paulista 24', Ramlunchhunga 45+1', Joseph Sunny 90+6'; Makan Chothe 78')
Hyderabad FC made it two wins in their last three ISL games with a comfortable 3-1 dispatching of Mohammedan SC at home in a clash of the bottom two sides of the ISL on Saturday evening.
Allan Paulista opened the scoring for the hosts, before an excellent free-kick from Ramlunchhunga doubled their advantange justbefore half-time. Even though Makan Chothe pulled one back for Mohammedan late on, Joseph Sunny wrapped up the points for the hosts in second-half stoppage time.
With that win, Hyderabad moved five points clear of Mohammedan, who are now likely to finish bottom in their debut ISL season.
NorthEast United 0-2 Mumbai City FC
Mumbai City FC's late-season momentum picked up another surge with a 2-0 win over NorthEast United in the first-ever ISL game held in Shillong, Friday night. Bipin Singh gave Mumbai the lead in the 41st minute, before skipper Lallianzuala Chhangte made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.
The result moved Mumbai up to fourth position, and well within the playoff spots, for the moment. NorthEast moved a spot down to 5th, with 29 points in 20 games, two behind Mumbai while also having played a game more than the reigning ISL cup winners.
With just four games left to go for Juan Pedro Benali's side, they will be looking nervously over their shoulders, as both Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC could potentially make up ground on them in the next week or two.
FC Goa 2-1 Odisha FC
Brison Fernandes 29', Lalthathanga Khawlhring 47' (OG), Rahul KP 54'
FC Goa were back to winning ways with a well-earned 2-1 victory over 10-men Odisha FC at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Thursday.
Brison Fernandes starred with a goal in the first half before an own-goal by Lalthathanga Khawlhring early in the second gave Goa a comfortable lead. Rahul KP pulled one back for Odisha, but it was not enough to deny Manolo Marquez's side, who climbed back to second place in the ISL standings with 36 points from 19 matches.
Mohun Bagan 3-0 Punjab FC
(Jamie MacLaren 57' 90', Greg Stewart 63')
Mohun Bagan extended their lead atop the Indian Super League (ISL) table to a mammoth twelve points with a 3-0 win over Punjab FC. Jamie MacLaren's second-half brace and Greg Stewart's goal was enough to ensure playoff qualification for Bagan, who are twelve clear of second-placed Jamshedpur albeit having played two games more, while Punjab remained ninth, five points behind Mumbai City FC in the last playoff position.
In keeping with their reputation, Punjab FC started the game in cautious fashion, happy to sit back and let Ravi Kumar make his saves, although Bagan were restricted in the chances they had, thus ensuring the first half finished goalless.
It took a little over ten minutes for the league leaders to break the deadlock in the second half, as Jamie MacLaren did well to control Manvir Singh's cross from the right in the box, turn and rifle a low drive into the bottom corner, thus giving Bagan a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute. Ravi Kumar was doing his best to keep Punjab in the game, denying MacLaren with a reflex save soon after, but he had no chance in the 63rd minute when the home side doubled their lead. Liston Colaco found himself in the left wing, and curled a delicious cross that looked to have crept into the opposite bottom corner, although Greg Stewart claimed to have made the faintest of touches with the ball en route it's path to goal.
Punjab tried their best to come back into the game, but could not breach the Bagan defence, and the game ended as a contest in the 90th minute, when Ashish Pradhan's pass back to the keeper was intercepted by Jason Cummings and he squared for MacLaren to finish things off.