The ten-month break of India’s top-tier football ended on February 14 as Kerala Blasters faced Mohun Bagan in the ISL 2025/26 opener at the legendary Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata. Sergio Lobera’s side were in complete control of the game and dominated the game and secured a 2-0 win over David Catala’s side.
For almost major parts of the game, the Mariners were on the front foot and dominated the possession. In fact, in the first half, Blasters registered zero shots on target. Maclaren and Tom Aldred’s goals on either half secured the win for Mohun Bagan. The Blasters were toothless and here’s our match report on the performance of both the teams.
David Catala opted for just two foreigners in the starting 11
The Blasters put out a surprising lineup with Sachin in goal, Aiban-Oumar-Bikash-Saheef in defense, Rowllin and Danish in the defensive midfield with debutant Ebindas in a more offensive role supported by Nihal and Korou on the left and right wing respectively, with Víctor Bertomeu as the lone striker.
Mohun Bagan’s lineup had Vishal Kaith in goal, Abhishek-Mehtab-Alberto-Subhasish in defense, Apuia and Thapa as DMs with Robson, Petratos, and Liston forming the trio in the 4-2-3-1 setup behind Maclaren who played as the lone striker up-front.
Mohun Bagan’s complete first half dominance:
KBFC vs MBSG wasn’t an even fixture even before the game began, and this unevenness continued on the pitch as well as Mohun Bagan dominated the game, holding the Lion’s share of possession and the Blasters fixated on their sit-back and counter strategy, but they lacked the cutting-edge pass(es/er) to make it work effectively. Without accurate forward passes, the Blasters were in a loop of building from behind, going forward, losing the ball, defending, and back to square one after reclaiming the ball.
Bagan had the first major chance of the game in the 12th minute when an unmarked Petratos was set up by Liston, but the former’s shot from inside the box went wide. Bagan’s Robinho was also a source of headache for the Blasters’ defense throughout the game, and he was the first person to properly test Sachin Suresh in goal with a curled effort, which was denied by the latter to maintain the stalemate for then. Anirudh Thapa also tried to test Sachin in goal with a long-range effort in the 21st minute, but the shot went above the crossbar with a safe margin.
The Blasters’ first major threatening move came in the 26th when Korou latched onto a loose ball and put in a through ball for Víctor, but the Spaniard couldn’t latch on to it in time as Vishal collected the ball with ease. Bagan’s intense high-pressing was negatively affecting the Blasters’ buildup from the back, and their high-pressing eventually led to Danish committing a foul in a dangerous spot and getting booked, but the subsequent free kick by Liston was palmed away by Sachin in goal.
Bagan continued to dominate the game, and their endless pursuit of playing with possession to stretch the defense finally bore fruit, leaving a gap in the KBFC defensive line wide enough for Maclaren to receive, turn and shoot, resulting in the first goal of the game. The move started with a brilliant forward pass to Dimi Petratos, who received the ball and provided the assist for Maclaren’s goal.
Mohun Bagan didn’t slow down even after scoring first as they looked for their second, and Robson came close to finding the second but was brilliantly stopped by Sachin and Bikash. This was the last major event of the first half as it finished 0-1 in favor of Bagan.
Improved display by Blasters in second half thanks to Kevin Yoke
Coming to the 2nd half, both teams made changes as Blasters brought in Naocha and Marlon in place of Ebin and Rowllin, as Català made a tactical shift. Lobera on the other side brought in Amey Ranawade in place of Subhasish who could have sustained an injury.
Naocha got booked in the 47th minute for a foul on Amey, and Alberto got booked in the 50th for arguing with the referee. As in the first half, Mohun Bagan dominated possession with Blasters choosing to sit back and counter, but no one dared to attempt the final pass/move to start the counter. So far so bad, but then Català decided to bring in Kévin Yoke in place of Nihal.
Kévin Yoke was the man the Blasters were missing all game, as the Blasters began to grow in the game, and with Yoke, they had someone whom they could rely on to hold and carry the ball against a physically and technically dominant Bagan side. While Lobera’s men still continued to dominate the game possession-wise, the Blasters were now finally attacking but lacked a final touch as the Bagan defense didn’t allow most of Yoke’s crosses to even land in the box.
The Blasters’ luck seemed to be going down again as their Spanish forward Víctor Bertomeu had to be subbed off in the 79th minute due to an injury, with the Blasters bringing on Sreekuttan to replace him. Bagan, on the other hand, subbed in Sahal and Aldred for Mehtab and Petratos in the 80th minute. Minutes later, Bikash got booked for fouling Sahal. Bagan made another change in the 82nd minute, bringing in Manvir in place of Liston.
Blasters continued their pursuit for the equalizer but lacked the final connection, which meant that the away side couldn’t even test Vishal in goal once. The Blasters did get a free kick in the 84th minute under funny circumstances, but the free kick taken by Marlon was blocked by Bagan’s wall. Both teams made their final substitutions in the 86th minute as the Blasters subbed off Oumar Bah, who had an outing that exceeded expectations and brought in Vibin Mohanan, indicating their intention to attack, while Mohun Bagan subbed off Maclaren for Cummings.
The Blasters’ attacking woes continued in the final third while Bagan looked to counter, and in 90+6′, Bagan got rewarded yet again as a free kick resulting from Naocha’s foul on Manvir, taken by Thapa was headed in by substitute Tom Aldred, to make it 2-0 for the hosts and thus sealed the game. This was the last action of the game as Bagan got all 3 points as the referee blew the full-time whistle.
What’s Next?
Although David Catala claimed that he was pleased with his team’s efforts, he would be quite dissatisfied with how the game unfolded. The Kerala Blasters spent much of the game running after the ball inside own half. Except for a few players, most of them appeared to lack match fitness, which is reasonable considering the present state of Indian football.
On the other hand, Sergio Lobera will be thrilled to lead Mohun Bagan to a convincing victory at home in front of over 30,000 spectators to begin his tenure as head coach of the club. Although his side scored two goals, knowing Lobera, he would still want to work on the missed opportunities and score more in the upcoming games.
Mohun Bagan SG will host Clifford Miranda’s Chennaiyin FC in their next game on February 23rd, while the Blasters will welcome Mumbai City to their stadium on February 22nd, 2026.
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