Bengaluru FC beat Sporting Club Delhi 3-2 at Sree Kanteerava as ISL returns

Bengaluru FC came from behind to beat Sporting Club Delhi 3-2 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday, sealing the victory with an 89th-minute goal from Menno Koch as the Indian Super League returned to action.

The league has resumed under a home-and-away, club-led model after months of uncertainty and a shortened campaign last season, restoring a full domestic schedule. The ISL restart follows India's recent international window against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay, in which India drew 1-1 with Panama before losing 4-0 to Brazil and 6-1 to Uruguay. Those friendlies brought attention back to Indian football while the new ISL season aims to provide regular competitive minutes for players over a full campaign.

Borja Martinez opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, finishing a move set up by Ryan Williams. Rodriguinho levelled for Sporting Club Delhi in the 26th minute from a Lalrinliana Hnamte assist. Menno Koch then put the ball into his own net in the 32nd minute, giving Delhi a 2-1 lead at half-time.

Bengaluru responded in the second half when Borja Martinez scored his second of the match in the 75th minute, converting Mihailo Perovic's assist to make it 2-2. The game appeared to be heading for a draw until Koch converted Soham Varshneya's assist in the 89th minute to complete the comeback. That strike proved decisive as Bengaluru moved ahead 3-2.

Delhi had one final opportunity in stoppage time, but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu denied Richard Ndayishimiye to preserve Bengaluru's lead. The result was a winning start for Pep Munoz as Bengaluru coach. Tomasz Tchorz and his Sporting Club Delhi players were left to wonder how a half-time lead slipped away.

The ISL has made all its matches available free on YouTube this season, with Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV also part of the broadcast arrangement; Sony Sports' linear television coverage has reportedly been delayed as the broadcaster awaits final regulatory clearance from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The opening match's stream recorded 5 million views on YouTube, with concurrent-viewer counts observed around 19,000 at one point before climbing past 73,000 towards the end. While concurrent viewership reflects the number of people watching at the same time, the final tally of 5 million views captures the total views accumulated for the game.

The action continues with FC Goa taking on Chennaiyin FC at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda. That fixture is the next match on the ISL schedule.