The Indian Super League (ISL) into its 11 year of successful run will celebrate its 1000th game when Mumbai City FC take on host Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in an away game on Saturday 9, November, 2024. At the end of 999 games until now, 2795 goals have been scored. The AIFF recognised tournament has witnessed 10 finals, with six different playoff winners, and four separate league shield victors. The foundation for this transformative competition was laid with Atlético de Kolkata’s (ATK)  3-0 win against Mumbai City FC on 12 October, 2014, in the first-ever ISL match.

The ISL has reached major goal milestones over its 11-year history. Fikru Teferra scored ISL’s first goal for ATK in 2014, while Balwant Singh became the first Indian scorer soon after. The league’s first hat-trick came from Andre Moritz in 2014, and Sunil Chhetri became the first Indian to score a hat-trick in 2015. Key goals followed: the 100th by Romeo Fernandes, the 500th by Danilo Cezario, and the 1000th by David Williams. Notably, Sunil Chhetri set a record with 64 ISL goals, overtaking Bartholomew Ogbeche in 2024. FC Goa became the first team to reach 300 goals in 2023.

Besides, the match between the Islanders and the Marina Machans assumes massive significance, and here’s a detailed rundown of what fans can expect from this cracking encounter.

Mumbai City FC’s gameplay traits:

Mumbai City FC’s frontline presents their A-game on the road, scoring in their 11 consecutive away matches. They have netted multiple times in nine of those games, and in the previous five of them on the bounce. The only side to score 2+ times in more successive away games in the ISL are the Islanders themselves (7 consecutive away games between February 2020 and January 2023). The Chennaiyin FC defence that has conceded 11 strikes so far will have to be wary of this.

Offensive Firepower: Chennaiyin FC have averaged 11.1 shots from inside the box per game in ISL 2024-25, as they are the only team to record over 10 such shots in every match. The Marina Machans have accumulated 78 shots from inside the 18-yard box, converting 15 of them into goals – being the third highest scorers this season.

Chennaiyin FC’s contrasting runs

With 11 points from seven matches this season, the Marina Machans have accumulated their highest-ever tally after these many games in seven seasons and are placed seventh. Their previous-best was the 13 points they had garnered in the same encounters in the 2017-18 season of the competition. The Marina Machans had emerged as the ISL champions that season.

However, Chennaiyin FC have repeatedly been unable to present their best game in their fixtures against Mumbai City FC. They have lost their last six games against the Islanders. This is the League, the joint longest losing run for any side against an opponent in competition history (East Bengal FC – 6 consecutive losses vs Mohun Bagan SuperGiant between November 2020 and February 2023).

Coaches Corner:

On the occasion of the 1000th match of the competition, Mumbai City FC Head Coach Petr Kratky acknowledged the growing competitiveness in the ISL, and simultaneously said that he was satisfied with the progress his team has made so far. Mumbai City FC in the previous home encounter scored a thrilling 4-2 victory over Kerala Blasters FC, and have nine points from six matches and are currently placed eighth in the 13 team league. The defending champion are however building momentum in their campaign in their quest to move further up the league table.

“It’s not easy to play the game the way we want to play it. Teams in the ISL are getting better every year, every week. We have new players and new staff too. But I’m very happy with the progression we’ve shown so far,” he said.

Chennaiyin FC Head Coach Owen Coyle expressed that his role is to bring in a sense of equilibrium within the squad regardless of the results of the game.

“(Past record) counts for nothing when the game starts. These are two very good teams going all out to win a tough game. This is such an emotional game, this is football, you’re going to win, lose, draw matches, and as coaches we are here to give balance to it,” he said.  

Head-to-Head:
The two teams have faced each other in 20 matches, with Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC winning 11 and six games respectively. Three encounters have resulted in a draw.

Key Players & Milestones:

Mumbai City FC striker Nikolaos Karelis has made a stunning start to his career with the Islanders, scoring five goals in his first six appearances. If he strikes in the coming match,  he will become just the fourth MCFC player to score in four or more consecutive games after Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Adam Le Fondre. Also, he can equal or better Sunil Chhetri’s (6) record for most goals for the Islanders in the first seven appearances by a player.

Chennaiyin FC’s Wilmar Jordan Gil has registered a 64.7% shooting accuracy this term, which is the third highest such aggregate for any player term (min. 10 shots attempted) after Kwame Peprah (70%) and Filip Mrzljak (66.7%). The Chennaiyin FC attacking midfield unit will have to work in tandem to provide Gil consistent opportunities.

Petr Kratky has a trump card up his sleeves for this game in the form of Bipin Singh, who has made six goal contributions in the league against Chennaiyin FC. Only against Odisha FC (9 goal contributions) has Bipin played a part in more strikes. Can he come off the bench or even start the game to make a tangible impact?