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Gurkirat Singh hadn’t scored a single goal in the Indian Super League (ISL) since December 2023. He ended that drought by rising tall in the 90th minute of Punjab FC’s first home game of the 2026/27 season against Mumbai City FC and heading in the equaliser. A thrilling end to a match that ended up being the second draw of the second matchweek of this ISL season.

Lalrinliana Hnamte, ‘the future for Indian football’. That is the assessment of SC Delhi coach Tomas Tchorz. Hnamte gave yet another stellar performance for them even though they lost 2-1 to Mohun Bagan SG in their first home match of the season. The 23-year-old midfielder put Delhi 1-0 ahead in the first half, letting the ball bounce in front of him and then chesting it down to control it before lashing it past Vishal Kaith in the 24th minute. Hnamte also provided an assist in their opening match of the season, which they lost 3-2 to Bengaluru FC.

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Hnamte’s transfer from Chennaiyin was among the more prominent moves that Delhi had made in the transfer window before this season. Despite being winless after two games, him hitting the ground running would be a positive for the side, and maybe something for India coach Khalid Jamil to consider as well. Hnamte has earned just one call-up to senior team thus far and that was in a friendly against Vietnam in October 2024.

East Bengal and Churchill Brothers are two of the oldest and most revered names in Indian football. On Sunday the two sides met for the first time in the ISL, and Churchill fans would want to put it out of their heads as quickly as possible. East Bengal had to start a week later than the rest of the teams due to their presence in the AFC Champions League 2. They took the lead in the second minute itself, with Dani Ramirez marking his debut for the Kolkata giants with a stunning free kick. Edmund Lalrindika doubled their lead just before half time, provided expertly by David ‘Hmar’ Lalhlansanga. Antonio Lopez Habas then brought in Bipin Singh in the second half and he scored a brace, which included a beautiful curler into the top left corner of goal.

Later that day came another hiding, this time for Kerala Blasters at the hands of NorthEast United. Moroccan Alaaeddine Ajaraie was involved in three of the four goals that NorthEast scored, scoring two of them. The Blasters seemed to have found a way to keep NorthEast quiet early on, with Ashley Westwood deploying a dense midblock. But NorthEast started finding a way through when they stopped launching hopeful balls into the air and started prioritising ground passes.

He is still there. Sunil Chhetri is 42 years old. Gone are the days of him being an automatic starter for Bengaluru FC up top and Chhetri seems to have accepted it, judging by the way he was smiling when Ryan Williams, wearing the captain’s armband, put them ahead in the 24th minute. Chhetri was brought on in the 70th minute, by which point Bengaluru were looking rather comfortable with a 2-0 lead. In the 89th minute, he almost made a new entry into the list of masterful curlers that he has scored from distance over the years. Chhetri received the ball around the centre of the field, a few feet outside the box and took a shot with the inside of his left foot. Chennaiyin goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz was upto the task, diving to his left and parrying the ball away.