The strike against the Hyderabad FC took Chhetri's tally to 50 goals and puts him ahead of Bartholomew Ogbeche’s goal tally in the ISL.
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Sunil Chhetri became the highest goal scorer in the history of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) as he netted against Hyderabad FC at the GMC Athletic Stadium on Friday. The strike against the Nizams took the Indian striker’s tally to 50 goals and puts him ahead of Bartholomew Ogbeche’s goal tally in the ISL. Chhetri slotted home from Udanta Singh’s cross in the 87th minute of the match, but the goal went in vain as HFC held on to the slender lead and won the match 2-1 courtesy of goals from Javier Siverio and Joao Victor.
Had to be him! ⚡️ Sunil Chhetri becomes the first player to reach half a century of goals in the #HeroISL. #WeAreBFC #CaptainFantastic #SC11 pic.twitter.com/3cw7WXPUt7
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) February 11, 2022
Chhetri was already the highest Indian goalscorer in the ISL’s history. The Bengaluru FC skipper had a poor start to the 2021-22 ISL season by his standard as he went without a goal for 11 games before finally ending the drought against FC Goa.
The 37-year-old made his ISL debut for Mumbai City FC back in 2015 and quickly proved his worth, as he netted seven goals to become the highest Indian goalscorer in that season. Following a not-so memorable season for him with the Islanders, he permanently moved to Bengaluru FC ahead of the ISL 2017-18. It started a remarkable phase for the striker, as he scored 14 goals and guided the Blues to the final of the ISL in their maiden season itself.
The Indian national team skipper led Bengaluru FC to their maiden ISL title the following season, scoring nine goals along the way. Chhetri made it a habit to score for Bengaluru FC, as he came up with an identical record in the ISL 2018-19 to steer his side to yet another top-four finish and make a cut to the AFC Cup qualifying round.
The veteran has been a pivotal figure in Bengaluru FC’s rise, ever since the team made its professional debut in the I-League, back in the 2013-14 season. After a poor start to the 2021-22 season, BFC are now well in the race for a top four finish. After Friday’s loss, BFC are placed third in the standings with 23 points from 16 games.
With just four games remaining for the Blues, they will need to push hard in the final phase of the league and Chhetri’s form is going to be crucial in BFC’s success. The striker is known to rise to the occasion and , we can surely expect Chhetri to extend his tally even further.
