Kerala Blasters began Season 9 of the Indian Super League on a winning note with Ivan Kaliuzhnyi netting a brace in a 3-1 win over East Bengal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
This was the first time since the 2019-20 season in which the league was being held outside the bio-secure bubble, and on a home-and-away basis.
After a goalless first half, Adrian Luna opened the scoring in the 72nd minute when he met Harmanjot Khabra’s long ball with a crisp volley into the roof of the net from close range.
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Kerala doubled their lead eight minutes from the end of normal time through debutant Ivan Kalyuzhnyi. The Ukrainian drove into the East Bengal box after getting the ball in his own half and slotted it past goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh into the bottom corner.
East Bengal pulled a goal back in the 87th minute via Alex who volleyed in from 12 yards out but the Blasters put the tie to bed in the 90th minute through a stunning strike from Kalyuzhnyi. The ball was headed out from a corner and the Ukrainian fired into the top corner.
East Bengal will welcome FC Goa on October 12 while the Blasters will host ATK Mohun Bagan on October 16.
ISL 2022-23 Points Table
| Pos | Club | M | W | D | L | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kerala Blasters | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| 2 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Bengaluru FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Chennaiyin FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | FC Goa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Hyderabad FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Jamshedpur FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Mumbai City FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | NorthEast United FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Odisha FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | East Bengal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |