Dimitri Petratos turns up big as Mohun Bagan win ISL 2024-25 League Shield

Dimitri Petratos scored the crucial goal as Mohun Bagan successfully retain the ISL shield.

Mohun Bagan clinched the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) in style with a dramatic 1-0 win over Odisha FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday (February 23). After what was a frustrating outing for the Mariners, a brilliant strike from substitute Dimitri Petratos in the 93rd minute helped them get the crucial win.

In doing so, Mohun Bagan have reached 52 points from 22 games. FC Goa, their closest competitors, can only reach 51 points at the end of the season – meaning Mohun Bagan have mathematically retained the ISL league shield title and become the first team in ISL history to win the league shield in consecutive seasons.

Unlike the previous campaign, where they had to fight until the very last matchday of the league phase, the Mariners dominated their way to win the 2024-25 ISL shield title. They had a shaky start to the campaign, playing out a 2-2 draw against Mumbai City in their opening and losing their first away game by a 3-0 margin to Bengaluru FC.

However, that loss in Bengaluru proved to be the ideal motivating factor to help Jose Molina’s side to tap into their best form. In their next 18 ISL games after that one, they only lost a single match and were held to three draws too.

Mohun Bagan’s dominance in ISL 2024-25

A key reason for Mohun Bagan’s dominance is their impressive home. In their 11 home games (including the Odisha FC clash), the Mariners won 10 straight games at home. They won every single home match since their 2-2 draw against Mumbai City. In this period, they only conceded six goals in 11 home games and picked up big wins against Jamshedpur FC (3-0), Punjab FC (3-0 ) and Mohammedan SC (3-0) at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Mohun Bagan also boasted the best goal-scoring record in the ISL en route to retaining the ISL shield. In 22 games, they scored 43 goals – the most for any team in the division. They also only conceded 14 goals and kept 14 clean sheets, proving that a rock-solid defence does indeed result in titles won.

This is Mohun Bagan’s third title won in the ISL. They won the ISL trophy in the 2022-23 season after defeating Bengaluru FC in the ISL final. Then an inspired turnaround in the second half of the 2023-24 ISL league phase helped them clinch the league shield over Mumbai City FC, resulting in the first tile they won an ISL league shield title too.

The 2024-25 ISL League shield is the second such title for Mohun Bagan in their period in the division. They have won seven Indian top-division titles in Indian football over the last few decades. The Mariners won the I-League title in the 2014-15 and 2019-20 seasons. Moreover, Mohun Bagan also won the National Football League (NFL) championship on three occasions (1997-98), (1999-2000) and (2001-02) seasons.

The Mariners will now be gunning to win their first-ever ISL double at the end of the 2024-25 season. They will need to defeat the ISL semi-final across both legs and defeat whichever opponent they potentially face in the final to win the ISL trophy – and become only the second team in ISL history to win a double.

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