ISL Musings: Varshneya sparkles, Blasters have lift off, Churchill debut joy, NorthEast stun Mohun Bagan

          Gaurav Bora (R) celebrates opening the scoring for Churchill Brothers against Mumbai City FC. R. Parthibhan/Focus Sports/ISL
          • Aaditya Narayan
          Oct 13, 2026, 04:16 AM ET

          The Indian Super League is back, and that means ESPN's ISL musings are back too. It's been an eventful opening weekend of the ISL, from a goal-glut at the Kanteerava to a shock on Sunday evening at Fatorda to a last-minute winner on Monday in Guwahati.

          We muse on the first five games of the new ISL season:

          Varshneya lights up Kanteerava classic

          Prior to the opener against SC Delhi, Pep Munoz had said his Bengaluru FC want to win, of course, but they also wanted to win in a way that their fans were proud of the team. Whether that was achieved on the opening evening if up for debate still, but there's no doubt that the Kanteerava was entertained.

          Borja Martínez scored twice, one either side of an SC Delhi blitz midway through the first half - it was a half that Delhi were better in, with Juan Pena and Rodriguinho forming a dangerous triangle alongside Lalrinliana Hnamte. And then Menno Koch followed up a first half own goal with an 89th minute winning goal.

          Soham Varshneya came on with Bengaluru 2-1 down in the 74th minute. He played 21 minutes and, in that time, had three shots, three key passes, and the assist for the winning goal. Out of Bengaluru's 27 shots over the game, Varshneya directly had a hand in 6: talk about an impact substitute. We're going to hear a lot more of this young man this season. And yes, we know you've watched that trivela pass to Ryan Williams at least ten times before reading this piece.

          Churchill Brothers have arrived

          Manolo Marquez came back to Fatorda, but it was not a happy return. The Spaniard, now in charge of Mumbai City FC, cut a frustrated figure on the touchline, as his team lost 2-1 to Churchill Brothers on their ISL debut.

          Churchill had been yearning for their ISL debut for years, and Gaurav Bora gave them the perfect start when he rose highest and looped a header past TP Rehenesh to give them the lead. In the stands, Churchill Alemao couldn't resist a celebratory whistle, as those around him in that box went wild.

          Sebastián Gutiérrez added another for Churchill, rendering Sergio Llamas' stoppage-time penalty academic. A historic Goan night for one of Goa's big clubs, this has been long in the making.

          Yes, Mumbai City weren't great, but Churchill fought hard, they had perhaps the better chances as well, and they've taken home the three points. They have arrived and they're not going to be pushovers for anyone all season.

          Jithin does what Erwin couldn't

          Mohun Bagan had 25 shots in Guwahati. 14 of them were from outside the box. Three were big chances. Two fell to Lee Erwin, he hit the crossbar with one and skewed another one over the bar.

          Until the 90th minute of that game, NorthEast United had six shots, none on target. Then came a spree in a ten-second period - first, a Vishal Kaith save off Alaaeddine Ajaraie, then an even better save off Antonio Moyano, and then off the rebound, nothing the goalkeeper could do, as Jithin MS completed NorthEast's smash and grab with a lash into the corner, as Guwahati went wild.

          It was NorthEast's first win against Bagan in four seasons: self-inflicted by Bagan in a sense, but NorthEast clung on, at times barely. At the end of the day though, three points is three points, especially when it comes against one of the big hitters.

          Kerala Blasters begin well in trying circumstances

          Kerala Blasters didn't have long in pre-season training, particularly given the happenings surrounding their ownership. They even couldn't even field a player they wanted to, with coach Ashley Westwood saying they couldn't get him registered in time.

          Given those circumstances, it was perhaps a blessing that they played Inter Kashi on the opening weekend, a side that had similarly tough circumstances to deal with. It was a tough, physical game, and Kashi did have their chances in it.

          But in the end, it was the Blasters' big players, captain on the day Vibin Mohanan and big foreign acquisition Andre Green, who found the decisive moments, as they picked up a win in their opening game. Just the result the new management needed to get their tenure rolling.

          Irfan Yadwad redeems a bland Fatorda night

          If Churchill Brothers lit up Fatorda on their ISL bow on Sunday, FC Goa didn't quite have the touchpaper to do so. Gouramangi Singh's first league game in charge of Goa ended in a 1-1 draw after Chiki's header equalized for the hosts in the 75th minute.

          The highlight of that game, though, was an early goal-of-the-season contender from Irfan Yadwad. After a few weeks with the national team in camps and then barely featuring in three friendlies, Yadwad was once again a bit of a peripheral act for the first hour of this game. And then...

          Namgyal Bhutia found him just inside the box, in the right corner. It's the kind of position that if one saw in most games of football, you'd tell the striker not to shoot: the xG from that position was just 0.03 xG, meaning just 3 in 100 go in from there.

          Irfan Yadwad's strike was one of those three. He struck it pure, with force, and it flew past the flailing arms of Bob Jackson, and into the side-netting. Chennaiyin couldn't quite close the win out, but Yadwad is up and running, and that's a good sign for Clifford Miranda.