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The Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season is well and truly underway with the first round of matches coming to a close on Tuesday, October 11. All the teams, except FC Goa, have played their opening matches in the competition. With fans back in stadiums after a two-year hiatus, the atmosphere was euphoric.
While some teams stood up to the expectations, there were some surprising results. Not essentially an upset, but very few would've expected Chennaiyin FC to walk away with three points against ATK Mohun Bagan in Kolkata.
Odisha FC, meanwhile, scripted a historic comeback in the final ISL match of the week. The Juggernauts crawled back into the game after going down 2-0 early on in the first half against Jamshedpur FC.
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On that note, let's take a look at the roundup from the first match day of the ISL 2022-23 season:
Match 1: Kerala Blasters 3-1 East Bengal
With a roaring Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium powering them on, the Blasters started their ISL 2022-23 campaign with a 3-1 victory against the Kolkata giants.
While the match started out as a cagey affair, the Red and Gold Brigade looked out of depth in their attacking department right from the initial exchanges. However, they managed to keep the clean sheet intact until the 72nd minute when Adrian Luna tucked home an audacious long ball from Harmanjot Singh Khabra.
What followed was a Herculean stint from Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, scoring a brace off the bench and sinking East Bengal. The visitors could only score a consolation goal in the end.
Match 2: Bengaluru FC 1-0 NorthEast United FC
In only the second ISL match of the season, drama and controversy tainted the league. After two taxing halves of football, Bengaluru FC pulled ahead in the game through Alan Costa's 87th-minute header.
It seemed like the home side had sealed the tie but minutes later, Jon Gaztanaga's smashing volley ended up in Bengaluru FC's net. The NorthEast United FC players went off celebrating, embroiled in elation, but the referee, much to the surprise of everyone, ruled out the goal for offside.
Head coach Marco Balbul's aggressive protests forced the referee to pull out the red card and sent the Israeli gaffer off. The match ended with the Blues preserving their one-goal lead.
Match 3: Hyderabad FC 3-3 Mumbai City FC
The defending champions had a stern test in their season opener against Mumbai City FC, one of the absolute heavyweights in the league. But the match truly lived up to its billing.
The Islanders opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Chinglensana Singh turned the ball into his own net. But skipper Joao Victor equalized from the spot in the dying minutes of the first half.
With the scores still tied in the second half, both teams grew impatient and fans experienced a breathtaking half of attacking football. Halicharan Nazary gave the Nizams a surprise lead but Greg Stewart reacted immediately with a moment of magic to level the scores.
With the game tied at 2-2, both teams kept looking for ways to silence each other. Joao Victor seemingly silenced the visitors when he scored in the 76th minute but Mumbai had one final role of the dice. Substitute Alberto Noguera salvaged a hard-fought draw for Des Buckingham's side.
Match 4: ATK Mohun Bagan 1-2 Chennaiyin FC
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan experienced the first comeback of the season when ATK Mohun Bagan met two-time ISL champions Chennaiyin FC.
Under new gaffer Thomas Brdaric, the Marina Machans looked shaky as the Green and Maroon Brigade scored early through Manvir Singh in the 27th minute.
The second half, however, completely altered the narrative. As the Mariners continued to lose their footing, Chennaiyin FC started to grow into the game.
Substitute Kwame Karikari won a penalty in the 62nd minute and converted it without losing a sweat. Twenty minutes later, Rahim Ali stabbed home the winner to end ATKMB's opening night in misery.
Match 5: Jamshedpur FC 2-3 Odisha FC
The final matchday of the first gameweek arguably witnessed the most thrilling encounter of the season so far. Odisha FC, under new boss Josep Gombau, traveled to the JRD Tata Sports Complex, the home of last season's Shield winners Jamshedpur FC.
The Juggernauts were left overwhelmed in the opening exchanges as they trailed by two goals within the first 10 minutes. But in the 17th minute, Diego Mauricio reinstilled some home in the hearts of the Juggernauts with his curling strike from outside the box.
What followed in the second half was a complete breakdown as Aidy Boothroyd attempted to preserve their slender one-goal lead while the Juggernauts went all-out attacking.
Isaac Vanmalsawma scored the equalizer in the 88th minute, while Mauricio completed the comeback with his goal in the 91st minute. A historic night to mark the return of Gombau to the ISL.
