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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Here are the details for matchweek 23 of ISL 2024-25 with the latest match report coming first:
Kerala Blasters 1 - 0 Mumbai City
(Kwame Peprah 52')
A toothless Mumbai City lost to Kerala Blasters to keep their playoff hopes hanging in the balance. Needing just a point to seal their top 6 spot, City mustered just 0.39 xG across the 90 (+) minutes as the Blasters showed attacking intent and took the game to them.
Peprah scored from a narrow angle, with Phurba Lachenpa beaten at his near post, but it was a goal that had been coming
Hyderabad FC 1-3 Punjab FC
(Ramlunchhunga 90+4' - Alex Saji (OG) 41', Luka Majcen 56', Shami Singamayum 86')
Punjab FC's Shami Singamayum became the youngest goal-scorer in the history of the ISL, with a late strike in Punjab FC's 3-1 win over Hyderabad on Thursday evening.
In their last home game this season, Hyderabad couldn't really get going, and went into the break behind by a goal, after captain Alex Saji put through his own net. Punjab FC had a defining contribution from their captain soon after the break, as Luka Majcen doubled their lead in the 56th minute, before Shami latched on to a pass from Petros Giakoumakis in the 86th minute to put the result beyond doubt. Ramlunchhunga scored a really nice goal in injruy time, but that was a consolation for Hyderabad, who will finish 12th out of 13 teams in the ISL this season.
Punjab, meanwhile, moved up to 9th place, leapfrogging Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters.
Jamshedpur FC 2-3 Odisha FC
(Jordan Murray 84', Stephen Eze 90' - Dorielton 21', Hugo Boumous 37', 53')
By the skin of their teeth, Odisha FC remain alive in the race for the ISL playoffs, but their hope now is for two favours from two teams in the south. If both Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC win their home games against Mumbai CIty FC, Odisha will be through, otherwise they will be out.
Going into their last league game against Jamshedpur, Odisha knew what they had to do - just win, at any cost, and they did it professionally, with arguably their best performance of the season, leading to a 3-1 win. Hugo Boumous was excellent in pulling strings as he always does, and got himself on the scoresheet twice. That was after Dorielton gave Odisha the lead in the 21st minute. However, it was nervous final few minutes as Jordan Murray converted a penalty for the hosts and then Stephen Eze glanced a header home to make the seven minutes of second half stoppage time a nervous one for Sergio Lobera's side, although they eventually did manage to hold on.
Jamshedpur, already through, suffered a blow in their quest to finish in the top four and guarantee themselves a home knockout playoff tie. Now, they will need to get a result away to Chennaiyin in their last league game, with Bengaluru, NorthEast United and Mumbai City all potentially able to breathe down their necks.
FC Goa 2-0 Mohammedan SC
(Iker Guarrotxena 40', Padam Chettri (OG) 86')
FC Goa beat Mohammedan SC 2-0 at Fatorda on Tuesday night to keep that 50-point landmark within sight for Manolo Marquez's side heading into their last game against Mohun Bagan. They have already qualified for the semifinals, assured of a second-placed finish this season in the ISL league phase. Goa were in complete control against the league's bottom team, but had to wait until the 40th minute for the opener, when a superb pass from Ayush Dev Chhetri was headed in by Iker Guarrotxena.
Guarrotxena was once again involved when Goa doubled their lead, as his header deflected in off goalkeeper Padam Chettri in the 80th minute, ensuring no late hiccups in a match that Goa were by far the superior side in.
NorthEast United 3-0 Chennaiyin
(Nestor Albiach 7' Jithin MS 26' Alaaeddine Ajaraie 38')
NorthEast United FC returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win over Chennaiyin which sealed their playoffs spot for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
It all started with an early goal from Nestor Albiach before Jithin MS and Alaaeddine Ajaraie also got into the act.
NorthEast United FC showed great urgency from the first minute of the game, pushing bodies forward in search of the goal. Their early pressure saw Jithin MS force a save from Mohammed Nawaz in the fifth minute. A couple of minutes later, Nestor had scored. It all started with Ajaraie, who found the Spaniard with a sensational flick and Nestor controlled the ball before slotting it into the bottom right corner of the net.
The hosts conceded again in the 26th minute. The move began with Mohammed Ali Bemammer playing a give-and-go with Jithin before sliding it to Ajaraie in space. The Moroccan eventually picked out Jithin's surging run and the winger completed the brilliant move.
NorthEast United FC extended their lead in the 38th minute when Jithin lost his marker with a surging run from the left flank before finding Ajaraie in the box. Ryan Edwards was brilliant to block Ajaraie's initial effort, but the Moroccan followed up the ricochet and slotted it home to score a record-extending 21st goal of his historic season.
East Bengal FC 1-1 Bengaluru FC
(Raphael Messi-Bouli 11', Dimitrios Diamantakos 45+2' RC - Sunil Chhetri 90+1' (P))
East Bengal's hopes of making the ISL playoffs for the first time came to a heartbreaking end, when a late Sunil Chhetri penalty earned Bengaluru FC a point. The hosts were in complete control in the first half and made a valiant effort playing the second half with 10 men after Dimitrios Diamantakos was sent off just before the break, but were denied with a 1-1 draw. BFC climbed to third in the table, while East Bengal can only finish with a maximum of 31 points this season, not enough to overcome NorthEast United's 32 points in sixth place.
Diamantakos and PV Vishnu had chances for East Bengal in the opening ten minutes, but Oscar Bruzon did not have to wait long for East Bengal to score the opener. Hernan Crespo and Raphael Messi-Bouli exchanged passes down the right wing before the former went down after being tripped on the edge of the box, but kept play going with a toe-poked pass forward into space. Messi-Bouli pounced on the ball in the box, before lashing home a low drive past a static Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to give the hosts the lead in the 11th minute.
They ought to have been 2-0 up in the 27th minute when Vishnu skied a shot over after Chinglensana Singh's mis-control in the box looped up wonderfully for him, but the East Bengal player fluffed his lines. Naorem Mahesh Singh's strike from range that found the net was also ruled out for offside with Diamantakos deemed to be interfering with play. The hosts came to rue those moments in first-half injury time, when Diamantakos was sent off after appearing to lean in and headbutt Alberto Noguera.
Bengaluru FC weren't able to do much with their man advantage after the break, although Ryan Williams and Edgar Mendez remained enterprising. Souvik Chakrabarti and Mahesh went close with long-range strikes on the hour mark, but the game remined finely poised. BFC ought to have equalized with 20 minutes to go, but Mendez skied Roshan Singh's cross from close range, and five minutes later Sivasakthi Narayanan hit the post. East Bengal then nearly scored from the resulting counter when David Lalhlansanga was put through on goal by Mahesh, but Gurpreet came out to smother his shot and make the save.
The East Bengal goal led a charmed life, when with 10 minutes to go, Aleksander Jovanovic headed onto the post, Prabhsukhan Gill saved Williams shot from the rebound and Sana couldn't convert the resulting rebound from a narrow angle as well. The hosts' luck finally came to an end in the 90th minute, when Nishu Kumar's handball in the box resulted in a penalty, and Sunil Chhetri duly converted to make it 1-1, sending the keeper the wrong way and grabbing a draw for BFC.
Kerala FC 1 - 1 Jamshedpur FC
(Korou Singh 35', Milos Drincic OG 86')
Jamshedpur FC came from behind to earn a point in a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters FC in Kochi, a result that ousted the home side out of playoffs contention. Korou Singh scored a brilliant goal to put the home side ahead in the first half before Milos Drincic's own goal brought Jamshedpur FC back into the game in the second half.
With this draw, Kerala Blasters can only reach a maximum of 31 points, which is a point less than the sixth-placed NorthEast United FC (32), with still two matches in hand.
Both the teams started the match slowly and became more assured in possession as the match progressed. Given that it was a must-win game for the Kerala Blasters FC, they showed more urgency than their counterparts, who had already qualified for the playoffs.
Kerala Blasters FC eventually broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Korou Singh scored a brilliant solo goal. It all started with Albino Gomes' goal kick which reached the Kerala Blasters FC penalty area and was headed away by Dusan Lagator. The stray ball was picked up by Korou, who came up with a great header to leave Stephen Eze high and dry in midfield. The youngster turned back in a jiffy, controlled his header, and ran past three defenders before beating Albino from a tight angle with a vicious effort.
In the second half, with the visitors not creating enough chances to get back into the game, Khalid Jamil decided to introduce Rei Tachikawa in midfield in the 59th minute at the cost of Lazar Cirkovic. Things took a drastic turn in the 86th minute when Sreekuttan got hold of a stray ball on the right wing. The youngster delivered a decent cross into the box but it ricocheted off Milos Drincic into his own net, awarding the equaliser to Jamshedpur FC.
Mumbai City 2 - 2 Mohun Bagan
(Toral 57', Rodrigues 89'; Maclaren 32', Petratos 41')
Mumbai City came from behind to gain a point against league shield winners Mohun Bagan in the early kickoff on Saturday. After playing well in the first half, Bagan went into the break 2-0 up thanks to goals from Jamie Maclaren and Dimi Petratos (who was handed a rare start as Molina shuffled things up after they sealed the title in their last game). Maclaren was played through by an errant back pass and he made no mistake with the one-on-one while Petratos swept in a rebound after good work from Liston Colaco on the left.
City came back via another rebounded effort from Jon Toral before Vikram Pratap Singh got a second yellow card and got sent off moments later. Staring at an uphill task against the meanest defence in the league, Nathan Rodrigues made the most of confusion in the Bagan box to score the leveller.
The point keeps Mumbai in prime position to qualify for the playoffs with two games to go for them.
Odisha FC 0-0 Mohammedan SC
In what could be a terminal blow to Odisha FC's season, they drew 0-0 at home against Mohammedan SC, failing to make up ground on the top six. In truth, Odisha were lucky to not lose the game. It was Mohammedan who created all the best chances, and with better composure in the final third from either Franca or Alexis Gomez, they could have won the game too.
As it stands, with just one game to go in their season, Odisha are on 30 points, two behind both NorthEast United and Mumbai City FC, who have played one and two games less than Odisha respectively. Lobera's team now need a massive favour from Mumbai and NorthEast's remaining opponents, while also needing to take full points from their final game, away to Jamshedpur.
Punjab FC 0 - 1 FC Goa
(Carl McHugh 45')
FC Goa beat Punjab FC 1-0, solidifying their grip over the second spot, which could guarantee them a straight semi-final berth, while Punjab were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs race.
FC Goa stepped in with intent, displaying fluidity in their gameplay and produced a well-coordinated corner kick in the eighth minute as Borja Herrera's precise delivery met Odei Onaindia on the far post. Onaindia, however, was positioned laterally, and hence he didn't go for a direct attempt at goal, instead laying up a headed pass for Carl McHugh. Muheet Shabir Khan pre-empted this and stopped it with a timely save in the ninth minute.
However, McHugh was successful in finding the back of the net at the end of the first half. Udanta Singh delivered a long throw-in for the Irish midfielder, who was looking to break into the Punjab FC box with a quick sprint. McHugh met the delivery properly, drilling the ball into the bottom left corner with his left foot to score the only goal of the match.
Punjab FC kept pressing for the equaliser right until the end, but were not successful.
With this win, Goa moved to 45 points in 22 games which puts them ahead of the third and fourth placed Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC respectively by eight points each, though the latter have three games in hand to cut that deficit. Punjab FC are in 11th place with 24 points from 22 matches, and thus eliminated from playoff contention.
East Bengal 2-0 Hyderabad FC
(Manoj Mohammed (OG) 86', Raphael Messi Bouli 90+4')
East Bengal beat Hyderabad FC 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata to make it three wins in a row for the first time in their ISL history. Their two goals came right at the end, with a Manoj Mohammed own goal breaking the deadlock in the 86th minute, before Raphael Messi Bouli's goal in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time.
East Bengal are now in eighth spot with 27 points from 22 games.
Manoj's attempted headed clearance off a corner deflected into his own net, before Saul Crespo and Messi Bouli combined for the second goal on a counter-attack, where Crespo was quick to spot the pass through to Messi Bouli in the centre of the Hyderabad box. He slotted into the bottom left corner to double the lead and take three points for Oscar Bruzon's men, who next face Bengaluru FC at home on Sunday.
Bengaluru FC 1-0 Chennaiyin FC
(Rahul Bheke 37')
Bengaluru FC are through to the playoffs. Chennaiyin FC won't make it. That, after a sweet Rahul Bheke volley gave Bengaluru a 1-0 win at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday, to make it a league double for Gerard Zaragoza's side against Chennaiyin this season.
It was a quick turnaround for Bengaluru after their win against NorthEast United in Shillong last week, but they showed no signs of real fatigue throughout the game, as they put pressure on Chennaiyin, and defended stubbornly when they had to, to ensure Owen Coyle's team have nothing but pride and league position left to play for in their final two games of the season - both at home in Chennai.
The decisive moment in the game came through a superb set-piece. Alberto Noguera floated the ball over to the back-post, where Bheke was unmarked. He still had a lot of work to do, though, but met the ball sweetly on the half volley to put it into the top corner, giving Mohammad Nawaz no chance in goal.
Chennaiyin had two massive opportunities to score, one in either half. Wilmar Jordan missed a free header from point-blank range, and then in the last few minutes of the game, Daniel Chima Chukwu should've scored after controlling the ball around the six yard box, but somehow skewed his shot wide.