Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC forward Sunil Chhetri scripted history by becoming the oldest player to score in the Indian Super League during his team’s 2025–26 season opener against Sporting Club Delhi at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday.
The veteran striker, who was introduced as a substitute in the 78th minute, marked his first appearance of the campaign with a stunning long-range goal in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 victory for the Blues.
At 41 years and 196 days, Chhetri surpassed the previous record held by French great Robert Pirès, who had scored for FC Goa during the 2014–15 season at the age of 41 years and 15 days.
N Sivasakthi and Sunil Chhetri scored in each half as Bengaluru FC started their Indian Super League 2025-26 season with a convincing 2-0 win over Sporting Club Delhi at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Bengaluru FC began their 2025-26 Indian Super League campaign with a dominant 2-0 victory over Sporting Club Delhi at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts started brightly, with Ryan Williams and Ashique Kuruniyan creating early chances, but Delhi goalkeeper Vishal Yadav kept them at bay. Despite enjoying most of the possession, Bengaluru struggled to convert their dominance into clear opportunities, while Delhi threatened sporadically through Augustine Lalrocchana, whose effort was saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Bengaluru finally broke the deadlock just before half-time when N Sivasakthi tapped in after a neat buildup involving Roshan and Nikhil Poojary. The home side maintained pressure after the break, with Braian Sanchez testing Yadav.
The second goal came on the counter-attack as Vinith Venkatesh set up Sunil Chhetri, who calmly finished from long range after rounding the goalkeeper, sealing a convincing opening win.