Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of this evening's ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters Indian Super League (ISL 2021-22) clash being played at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa. This was
Aneesh Dey bringing you live updates from the match.
Missed the previous match? We've got you covered with our ISL match reviews. Here's a recap of the ISL 2021-22 season opener where ATK Mohun Bagan beat Kerala Blasters 4-2.
That's all for today from us. Thank you for tuning in. Goodnight and take care!
FULL TIME (ATK MOHUN BAGAN 4-2 KERALA BLASTERS)!! MATCH REPORT: ISL 2021-22: ATK Mohun Bagan thwarts Kerala Blasters
90+4' The Blasters still trying to threat ATKMB's goal but it is a weakened effort at this stage of the game. It is well and truly beaten.
90+2' Luna makes a great run from the middle of the park but is fouled before he could get the ball to a teammate.
FIVE ADDITIONAL MINUTES!!
89' KBFC putting in a lot of crosses inside ATKMB's box but the players cannot make any solid connection. Time running out for the Tuskers.
88' SUB- Kiyan Nassiri replaces Krishna.
87' Kerala with all the pressure on ATKMB's goal right now with the latter pegged back. However, Kerala will be wary ATKMB's counter-attacking threat.
85' SHOT- Jeakson attempts a shot from the edge of the box but his body shape was all wrong. The shot soars over the goal.
82' BOOKING- Deepak Tangri shown yellow by the referee.
80' SHOT- Chencho makes his presence known with a shot at Amrinder's goal from the left-flank but it was always going off target. Difficult to judge if that was a shot or a cross.
78' ATKMB SUBS- Boumous and Kauko are replaced by Williams and Bidyananda.
We are back!!!
The match halts for a drinks break!! We will be back shortly!!
76' KBFC SUB- Chencho comes on for Sahal.
74' SHOT- A great bit of acrobatics by the fallen Kauko to get the ball to Boumous. It was a well-timed pass again to Krishna who had made a great run but his shot was always swaying wide.
70' Krishna with a dangerous run once again but he could not get clear of Leskovic, who made a brilliant last-ditch challenge. If Leskovic didn't get the ball, Krishna would have been away,
69' GOOOOLAAAALLLL!!! KERALA PULLS ONE BACK!! ITS PEREYRA DIAZ!! A great move by the Tuskers as Diaz made a wonderful run to get at the end of a well-timed pass. He keeps his composure and slots is past Amrinder to into his far-post.
69' ATKMB SUB- Prabir Das replaces Colaco. He can leave the pitch with head held high. What a stunner that was.
68' A great counter-attack by ATKMB as Liston darts forward with acres of green in front of him. He chooses the unselfish route as he passes it to Boumous with the outside of his foot. Boumous' first touch is a tad bit heavy as Albino collects the ball.
66' KBFC SUBS- Ayush and Sandeep replace Vazquez and Khabra.
63' CHANCES- Krishna is played a great through ball, which found him one-on-one with Albino. Krishna dispatched his shot but Albino won this particular battle. The rebound ended at Manvir's feet. He takes a shot, which rattles the woodwork.
62' Kudos to Kerala for still trying to press but ATKMB is keeping possession efficiently. Right now, it seems like a walk in the park. The tempo of the match has gone down.
58' ATKMB has done well to recover the ball even when it has lost the ball in crucial places. Kerala, which had started the second half well, is finding it difficult to break down this resilient ATKMB team.
55' BOOKING- Harmanjot Khabra shown yellow by the referee.
52' The Blasters started the second half well, asking the right questions but that goal has got to be a huge dampener for the morale of the KBFC players.
50' GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!! ITS A GOLAZOOOO BY COLACO!!! 4-1 T0 ATKMB!! The goal surely is one of the best ever in ISL history. Krishna passes the ball to Colaco. Colaco traps the ball with his feet, has a look and caresses the ball to the top-right corner of Albino from the edge of the box. A magnificent finish by the young lad. What a way to announce yourself.
47' Kerala Blasters has started the second half well, showing the right intent. ATKMB on the backfoot currently as the Tuskers put pressure inside the final third.
AND WE ARE BACK FOR THE SECOND HALF!!
The Mariners enjoying a comfortable 3-1 lead at the break with Hugo Boumous being the standout player in the first half.
Concern for Kerala as Rahul KP's injury forced the coach to bring on Prashanth, who has not been able to replicate Rahul's influence on the game.
Listen in to our season preview on a new episode of The Full Time Show:
HALF-TIME!! (ATKMB 3-1 KERALA BLASTERS)
45+2' A brilliant run by Liston Colaco as he wriggled away from three Kerala defenders and almost had a shot at goal. Kerala manages to stop him at the right time as the Tuskers clears the ball to safety.
Three additional minutes!!
43' Hugo Boumous has already got a brace in his first match for ATKMB. Justifying every penny of his price-tag.
41' Liston shows brilliant feet to penetrate into the final third but he is blocked by the Croatian wall, Leskovic.
38' GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! ITS HUGO BOUMOUS!!! ATKMB TRIPLE ITS LEAD!! Hugo Boumous with a brilliant finish as he made a great run down the right flank and slipped the ball between Albino's leg to make it 3-1 for ATKMB. The match is slipping away from the Tuskers.
38' CLOSE- A well-worked freekick by Kerala as Vazquez heads the ball towards Amrinder but it is cleared.
37' BOOKING- Carl McHugh sees yellow for his mistimed challenge.
34' Concern for ATKMB as Krishna is down on the ground.
Update- The Fiji international is back up and Habas breathes easy.
32'- KBFC SUB - Rahul KP replaced by Prasanth!!
32' CHANCE- Krishna with a glorious chance to score his second goal as the ball deflected off a Kerala player and landed in front of him. He did well to control the flight of the ball but rockets his shot over the goal. On another day, it the score would have been 3-1.
We are back!!!!
The match halts for a drinks break!! We will be back shortly. What a match we have on our hands.
27' GOOOOOAALLL!! KRISHNA CONVERTS HIS PENALTY AND ATKMB LEADS AGAIN!! Krishna sends the goalkeeper in the wrong way and ATKMB has not taken long to take the lead again.
26' PENALTY TO ATKMB AS KRISHNA IS FOULED BY ALBINO!! A great one-two by Boumous and Krishna, which led to the penalty.
24' GOOOOOAAALLLL!!! KERALA EQUALISES!! ITS SAHAL!! A brilliant combination between Rahul KP and Sahal. Rahul did well to keep his composure and deliver a pin-point ball to Sahal from the right flank. Sahal received the ball and rifled the ball past a helpless Amrinder.
23' A great delivery from Boumous into Kerala's box from the freekick he earned. The ball dipped at the right time but no one was there to guide it towards goal. Tangri's outstretched leg the closest to the ball.
22' FOUL- Now it is Rahul KP who clips a running Hugo Boumous from behind. Foul given but no card shown.
20' FOUL- Tangri with a crunching challenge on Rahul KP. Rahul gets the foul but no card for Tangri.
19' Kerala Blasters demanding a penalty as the players claim Joni Kauko handled the ball with his hand. Replay shows that his hand was in an unnatural position but no penalty given. Frustration for Kerala.
18' A poor backpass from Tangri leads to a Kerala corner. He was under no pressure at all.
16' ATKMB and the Kerala Blasters have two talented dead-ball specialists in Boumous and Vazquez respectively. Set-pieces might come in handy for the match to change course.
14' CLOSE- Hugo Boumous with a pin-point delivery from a corner, which finds Manvir Singh. The forward connected well with the head but it lacked accuracy as the ball goes over the crossbar. That was not too far away.
12' Habas has gone with a back three, which means Kerala will get space to exploit down the flanks.
10' Sahal showing his quick feet to wriggle away from the ATKMB backline, but ends up losing the ball. In an attempt to win the ball back, he ends up fouling Tangri.
9' SHOT- Kerala skipper Jessel shoots from distance but it is nowhere near goal as Amrinder watches the ball sail wide past him.
8' A prolonged stretch of pressure by Kerala on ATKMB's goal, with some dangerous balls being played in from the flanks.
7' Joni Kauko wins the ball in midfield and marshals his way into the final third but his attempted pass to Liston is intercepted.
4' SHOT- End to end action!! Its Kerala this time with an attacking move. Vazquez with some unselfish play and sets it up for his teammate inside the box, who takes the shot but it is blocked.
3' GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! ATKMB SCORES!! ITS NEW-RECRUIT HUGO BOUMOUS!! WHAT A START!! Boumous tried to pick a player out from the left flank but somehow it has missed everyone and ended up at the back of the net. Offside questions raised about Krishna's position but the goal stands.
1' KICKOFF!!
7:30 PM- AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!!
7:25 PM- How do you think the first match will pan out? Let us know here -
7:15 PM- Here's how it went down when the two teams faced each other last time
7 PM: Did you know? ATK Mohun Bagan coach Antonio Habas has been a part of four opening fixtures in the past and has won three of them. Incidentally, the only time he lost was when his side took on Kerala Blasters FC back in the 2019-20 season.
6:45 PM- Ahead of the opening game of the ISL 2021-22 campaign, our reporters Shyam Vasudevan , Aashin Prasad and N Sudarshan give their assessment of the upcoming season.
6:30 PM- OFFICIAL LINEUPS ARE OUT!!
ATKMB Playing XI: Amrinder Singh (GK), Kauko, McHugh, Boumous, Singh, Bose, Colaco, Kotal (C), Krishna, Tangri, Rodrigues
Subs: Avilash, David, Prabir, Ashutosh, Sumit, Bidyananda, Kiyan, Rana Abhishek
Coach: Antonio Lopez Habas
KBFC Playing XI: Albino, Khabra, Bijoy, Leskovic, Jessel (C), Jeakson, Sahal, Rahul KP, Luna, Pereyra Diaz, Vazquez
Subs: Gill, Sandeep, Denechandra, Hakku, Ayush, Puitea, Prasanth, Seityasen, Chencho
Coach: Ivan Vukomanovic
6:15 PM- ATKMB played 15 matches at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda last season and was unbeaten in 12 of them. Kerala Blasters played four and failed to win even a single one.
6:00 PM- Here is how both teams can lineup today!!
ATK Mohun Bagan predicted XI
Amrinder Singh; Ashutosh Mehta, Tiri, Pritam Kotal, Subhasish Bose; Deepak Tangri, Lenny Rodrigues, Hugo Boumous, Michael Soosairaj; Roy Krishna, David Williams, Manvir Singh.
Kerala Blasters predicted XI
Albino Gomes; Jessel Carneiro, Harmanjot Khabra, Enes Sipovic, Sandeep Singh; Adrian Luna, Sahal Abdul Samad, Seityasen Singh, Rahul KP; Alvaro Vazquez, Jorge Diaz
- MATCH PREVIEW: ATKMB faces KBFC challenge in season opener -
An absorbing contest is on the cards as last year’s runner-up ATK Mohun Bagan meets former finalist Kerala Blasters FC in the opening match of the Indian Super League’s (ISL 2021-22) eighth season, which gets underway at the Fatorda Stadium on Friday evening.
The Kolkata outfit, which is born out of the merger of ISL’s most successful outfit ATK FC and the legacy of Asia’s oldest club Mohun Bagan, has remained in the preservation mode retaining much of the previous season’s squad under the very same coach Antonio Lopez Habas.
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Kerala Blasters, which finished runner-up twice in 2014 and 2016, is looking to turn a new page under the Serbian head coach Ivan Vukomanovic.
Noting that he does not have much idea about the formation or form of the opponent under Vukomanovic, Habas said he prefers his boys to focus on the on the team’s football morals. “All the time my morals in football are more important. This means that my team will perform its own plan for 80 to 85 percent while the rest 15 to 20 percent is respect for the opponent,” he said on the eve of the opener.
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Vukomanovic sought to look ahead to a new match while putting the past behind. “In football the good thing is that you can have a new game every three days. In our case there is a new chapter, there is a new game. So all the history is behind us,” he said. Blasters lost both the matches against ATK MB last season including the season opener, where it went down by a solitary goal.
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