Kolkata: Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Sunday became the first team in Indian Super League (ISL) history to defend the title with a 1-0 win over Odisha FC with Dimitrios Petratos scoring the all-important goal in the added time in a dramatic match in Kolkata.
Australian forward Petratos (90+3rd) struck in the third minute of the added time in front of ecstatic home supporters at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium. By virtue of clinching the ISL Shield, MBSG also booked a berth in the AFC Champions League 2, the continent's second tier club competition. They retained the League Shield they had won in the 2023-24 season.
After the win in their 22nd league game, Mohun Bagan Super Giant secured 52 points and emerged Shield Winners with two matches to spare.
Their nearest rivals, FC Goa, have collected 42 points from 21 matches, and they cannot catch MBSG even if they win all their remaining three matches.
The Jose Molina-coached team has notched 16 victories and four draws, and suffered only two losses.
The match decisively shifted in the favour of the home team right afterwards, as Mourtada Fall tripped and fouled Maclaren near the Odisha FC box, getting sent off and reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Petratos stayed in the hunt for the winner even in the added time and eventually sealed the game, as well as the championship, for the Mariners with a powerful and precise shot from outside the box, which rattled the bottom left corner of the goal. Agencies
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