Chhetri becomes oldest scorer in ISL history as Bengaluru FC defeats SC Delhi
BFC’s Sunil Chhetri (11), scoring goal, during the Indian Super League (ISL) football match between Bengaluru Football Club (BFC) and Sporting Club Delhi, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru on February 15, 2026.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
Bengaluru FC opened its ISL campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over SC Delhi at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday (February 15, 2026).
BFC claimed the victory through goals from Sivasakthi Narayanan and substitute Sunil Chhetri. Chhetri (41 years, 6 months and 12 days old) thus became the oldest goal-scorer in ISL’s history, a record previously held by French World Cup winner Robert Pires (41 years, 15 days).
The home side started with Sivasakthi and Ryan Williams in attack, leaving Chhetri on the bench. Williams was in the thick of action early on with a shot which went just wide of the far post. Minutes later, Ashique Kuruniyan delivered a strong header that was parried by SC Delhi goalkeeper Vishal Yadav.
The deadlock was broken just before half-time as Nikhil Poojary produced a perfect headed pass for an unmarked Sivasakthi to apply the finish. BFC continued to pile the pressure on SC Delhi, which struggled to keep possession.
The visiting side, however, created chances. Augustine Lalrochana struck a low shot but BFC custodian Gurpreet Sandhu pulled off a fine save, while Alan Saji came close to dragging SC Delhi level.
The 12,300-odd crowd rejoiced in injury time when Chhetri got on the scoresheet. The 41-year-old managed to dodge Vishal, who had come way out of the box to disrupt a tempting pass. With Vishal out of the way, Chhetri calmly slotted a left-footed strike into the empty net.
JFC begins with win
At Jamshedpur, Jamshedpur FC marked its return to the city with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mohammedan Sporting at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
In front of a roaring home crowd, Madih Talal’s first-half strike proved decisive. Receiving the ball from midfield, Talal drove forward with confidence and calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
The results: Bengaluru FC 2 (Sivasakthi Narayanan 45+1, Sunil Chhetri 90+4) bt SC Delhi 0.
At Jamshedpur: Jamshedpur FC 1 (Madih Talal 9) bt Mohd. Sporting 0.
Published – February 16, 2026 05:50 am IST
