Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium was packed to the rafters and set ablaze with yellow jerseys, the club's iconic colours, on Friday, ahead of the beginning of the longest Indian Super League season.
The opening ceremony saw its share of glitz and glamour, with Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan putting up electrifying performances to charge up the crowd. <br> Along with the Bollywood stars, veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty, iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Reliance chairperson Nita Ambani were also present at the ceremony.
The first game of the fourth edition of ISL saw defending champion Atletico de Kolkata take on Kerala Blasters. <br> While the stadium was filled with local fans donning Kerala's yellow jersey, the side could not open its account on the evening and it was held to a goalless draw. <br> The tie also saw Kerala's recent buy and star striker, Dimitar Berbatov in action, but the Bulgarian failed to impress.
Saturday saw ISL first-timer Jamshedpur FC take on North East United FC at Guwahati, in a game that was intensely fought but ended in another goalless draw. <br> However, there was some late drama as Jamshedpur's Andre Bikey was issued the first red card of the tournament in the 79th minute for a foul on Luis Restrepo. <br> While it did not change the end outcome, the decision was widely debated, with some believing that the referee fell for Restrepo's play-acting.
Old rivals Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa locked horns on Sunday and what ensued was am absolute goal-fest. The Goan side scored three first half goals and survived a late onslaught from the home side to win the game 3-2. <br> While the scoreline suggests that it was a closely fought contest, it was the Goans who dominated the game throughout. <br> Chennaiyin's coach, John Gregory, admitted post the match that he had got his team's formation wrong and will have some tweaking to do in the upcoming games.
It was a new tournament for ISL debutant Bengaluru FC but it showed no sign of nerves as it put up a dominating 2-0 win over Mumbai City FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday. <br> Edu Garcia and captain Sunil Chhetri found the back of the net as the Federation Cup champion got off to a winning start, and with it, ended the first week of ISL action.
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