Anirudh Thapa came on for the injured Sahal, and Mohun Bagan came from behind to end Punjab FC’s unbeaten start

Mohun Bagan lost Sahal Abdul Samad to an injury after 12 minutes on Saturday, and they were already a goal down by then. The man who replaced him had them level six minutes later. Anirudh Thapa set up Lee Erwin’s equaliser, Dejan Dražić scored the winner from distance before half-time, and a 2-1 win at the Salt Lake Stadium took Mohun Bagan to the top of the ISL.

It also ended Punjab FC’s unbeaten start. They arrived in Kolkata with seven points from three games, and with a former coach waiting for them in the home dugout. Panagiotis Dilmperis managed Punjab before he took the Mohun Bagan job for this season. Punjab had lost all five of their previous ISL meetings with Mohun Bagan, and they have now lost six.

Planas strikes inside three minutes

Punjab could hardly have started better. Alfred Planas hit a right-footed shot from outside the box past Vishal Kaith’s dive with less than three minutes on the clock. Kaith had to save from Manglenthang Kipgen soon after, and for a spell Punjab looked the sharper side.

Losing Sahal so early should have hurt the hosts more than it did. In the 18th minute Thapa found Erwin on the left of the box, and Erwin’s left-footed finish went into the bottom corner past Arshdeep Singh.

Dražić from distance

Mohun Bagan had the better of the rest of the half. Rahul Bheke headed a Dražić corner just wide, and Arshdeep had to deal with efforts from Samir Zeljković and Erwin. Three minutes before the break Erwin laid the ball off to Dražić, whose shot from around 25 yards took a deflection off Bijoy Varghese and beat Arshdeep.

Punjab had their chances to draw level after the break. Planas tested Kaith from the middle of the box in the 75th minute, and the keeper held firm. Arshdeep made more saves at the other end, including one from substitute Liston Colaço. Mohun Bagan then had eight minutes of stoppage time to see out, and they did.

Where it leaves the table

Mohun Bagan lost their opening game 1-0 at NorthEast United and have won all three since. They now have nine points from four matches, one ahead of NorthEast United, who have also played four. Bengaluru FC are on seven with a game in hand, so the top spot may not last long, and Punjab drop to fourth on seven.

The worry for Dilmperis is Sahal. There was no word on the injury after the game. Mohun Bagan play Odisha FC at home on Thursday, 5 November, with kick-off at 7:30pm IST.

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