Is this the best goalscoring start to a season in the history of ISL?

The opening 10 matches witnessed a record 33 goals scored in the league.

The eighth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) is well and truly underway. After 13 thrilling encounters so far, it has been goals galore. A glance at the ISL 2021-22 points table will enable us to cognize that FC Goa are the only team so far to have scored just one goal. All other teams have added three or more goals to their tally.

Odisha FC have scored the most number of goals and sit at the second spot in the league table. Their recent win against SC East Bengal (6-4), have taken their tally to nine goals.

Meanwhile, table toppers ATK Mohun Bagan have already bagged seven goals in their first two encounters, which also includes a 3-0 thrashing of their arch-rivals SC East Bengal in the Kolkata Derby.

But has this edition of the ISL seen the highest number of goals scored in the first 10 matches of the competition? We’ll look at the season-wise statistics below.

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ISL 2014 (24 goals)

The first edition of the ISL saw 24 goals in the first 10 matches. Two out of those encounters witnessed 3-0 and 5-0 results. The very first match of the ISL in fact, saw the erstwhile ATK defeating Mumbai City FC by a 3-0 margin, with Fikru Teferra, Borja Fernandez and Arnal Llibert getting on the scoresheet.

The 5-0 scoreline, however, came in the sixth match of the campaign where Mumbai City FC beat neighbors FC Pune City at the DY Patil Stadium. Andre Moritz had a memorable night as he scored a hat-trick. Subhash Singh and Frenchman Johan Letzelter scored the other two goals.

ISL 2015 (26 goals)

Two more from the previous season. As many as 26 goals were scored in the opening 10 matches of the 2015 edition of the league. Similar to the previous season, the 2015 edition of the ISL also witnessed two high-scoring performances. The highest number of goals came in the first game between Chennaiyin FC and ATK. The encounter witnessed two world class footballers plying their trade to the brim, with Helder Postiga scoring a brace for ATK and Elano Blumer bagging one from the spot for Chennaiyin FC.

Another mouth-watering clash between FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC in the ninth match of the campaign witnessed the former getting thrashed 4-0. Stiven Mendoza earned the match ball that day with a hat-trick and Elano netted one more for the Marina Machans.

ISL 2016 (19 goals)

The third edition of the ISL had the same number of teams compared to the previous years. Unfortunately, the first 10 matches did not witness goals like the first two seasons. Only 19 goals were scored with Kerala Blasters failing to get on the scoresheet in their first three matches. Even if the count is low, the action was compact enough.

The very second match saw ATK and Chennaiyin FC locking horns in a tough encounter, which ended at 2-2 with Iain Hume converting a penalty to produce a late equaliser for the hosts.

Apart from this, the match between Chennaiyin FC and Delhi Dynamos delivered four goals. Marcelinho, who has recently signed for Rajasthan United, scored a brace for the erstwhile Dynamos in a 3-1 victory.

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ISL 2017/18 (28 goals)

For the first time in the ISL, participating teams were increased from eight to 10 with Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur joining the league. The first 10 matches witnessed four high-scoring encounters with two matches ending 3-2 and the other two by 4-1 margins.

Bengaluru FC and Delhi Dynamos played the most enthralling encounter in this period with the match witnessing a total of 31 fouls, 27 shots and five goals.

Apart from this, the most surprising results came when FC Pune City thrashed then defending champions ATK FC 4-1. But the Kolkata-based side created more chances than the visitors that day and even enjoyed more possession of the ball.

Fun fact! Both these matches took place on the same day, November 26, 2017. One day, 10 goals!

ISL 2018/19 (25 goals)

The fifth edition saw a slight fall in the graph with 25 goals scored in the first 10 matches. There was just one high-scoring match in the opening 10 games. It was played between Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa, where the latter emerged victorious.

There were four draws and a couple of narrow 1-0 wins as NorthEast United-Goa and Bengaluru FC-Jamshedpur FC played 2-2 draws. This was also the last time FC Pune City will take part before the club was dissolved. Delhi Dynamos shifted base to Odisha FC after this season and rechristened themselves as Odisha FC.

ISL 2019/20 (24 goals)

24 goals in the first 10 matches and immense action gave the sixth season of the ISL a perfect start. Adding cherry on the cake, was ATK’s 5-0 victory over newcomers Hyderabad FC. David Williams and Edu Garcia scored a brace each while Roy Krishna chipped in with a goal. ATK will go on to lift the ISL trophy a record-third time in its history after beating Chennaiyin FC in the final. Habas, who returned to ATK in this season, also became the first ISL manager to win two ISL titles.

ISL 2020/21 (21 goals)

The graph seems to be going down with each season. The seventh edition of the ISL saw the inclusion of the Kolkata Giants ATK Mohun Bagan (formed after the merger between ATK and Moun Bagan) and SC East Bengal. In this season, the first 10 matches failed to produce any score-line worthy of highlighting as a memorable one. No team scored more than two goals.

Fortunately, the Indian football vertical, for the first time in the ISL, witnessed the Kolkata Derby. ATK Mohun Bagan convincingly defeated their arch-rivals by 2-0, courtesy of goals from Roy Krishna and Manvir Singh.

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ISL 2021/22 (33 goals)

The eighth season of the ISL has seen the most goals in the first 10 matches ever since its inauguration in 2014. To be more precise, the first two matches produced 12 goals. Again the highest in the league's history.

Surprisingly, there were only two draws. With 33 goals already scored, ISL 2021-22 looks set to break all scoring records in the ISL's short history. The opening two weeks also saw seven such games where more than three goals were scored. ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC also smashed four past Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United in their respective first matches.

So far a total of 13 matches have been played in ISL 2021-22. The scoring has raced to 48 goals, with the Odisha FC Vs SC East Bengal match producing 10 goals in a 6-4 thriller. Brace on for more high-scoring matches.

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