Sunil Chhetri: The Indian goal machine in the ISL

Sunil Chhetri has been the pivot on which Indian football has made most of its moves in recent years.

Sunil Chhetri has set numerous records over the last two decades. It includes being the most capped Indian international and the highest Indian international goal scorer of all time and the fourth-highest scorer overall. His tally is only behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina's Lionel Messi and Iran's Ali Daei.

Sunil Chhetri’s brilliant run at the international level has also reflected in the way he’s performed in Indian domestic football.

While the early years saw Chhetri set the I-League on fire and became the highest Indian goal scorer in the league in 2017, he hasn’t lost any intensity since moving to the Indian Super League (ISL) from 2015.

Having turned out for Mumbai City FC in 2015 and 2016, and Bengaluru FC every year thereon, the Indian striker has not only scored goals aplenty but has also single-handedly led his side to victories.

Sunil Chhetri is the top scorer in the history of the ISL with a total of 69 goals in ISL, netted in 167 matches. He is also the first player to score against all the 15 ISL teams and leads the league in scoring the most spot-kicks in the competition’s history. At the age of 40 years and 126 days, he is also the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the ISL.

Here’s a look at some of Sunil Chhetri’s goals in ISL.

Sunil Chhetri’s first goal in ISL

The Indian talisman missed the inaugural ISL after his I-League team Bengaluru FC refused to release Chhetri mid-way through the season. A year later, however, a dedicated window for the competition ensured every player got an opportunity to compete in the ISL.

In 2015, Mumbai City FC managed to get Sunil Chhetri on board. Chhetri missed the opening matches due to international commitments but hit the ground running once he turned up for Mumbai.

Up against Delhi Dynamos in their fourth game of the season, Sunil Chhetri combined well with Haitian Sony Norde to score two goals and hand Mumbai their first win.

The opening goal saw Chhetri drop deep to win the ball and set himself on a run through the middle before finding Norde on the far side. Though the former Mohun Bagan star cut in and lined himself up for a shot, the attempt was thwarted by the Delhi defence.

However, as a result, the ball fell invitingly for an onrushing Sunil Chhetri who made no mistake in finding the bottom corner with his first time shot.

The second goal also saw the two Mumbai forwards combine well as Norde drew the defence on to himself before squaring off for Sunil Chhetri to tap it into an open goal.

In the 11 games that Chhetri played that year, he scored seven goals, nearly 45 per cent of the team’s total goals in the campaign.

Sunil Chhetri’s best goal tally in an ISL match

While there have been many moments for Sunil Chhetri in the past five ISL seasons, his two hat-tricks in the league stand out.

The first one came in his debut ISL season. Playing for Mumbai City FC in ISL 2015, the Indian striker scored twice against NorthEast United FC from the penalty spot and added another one from close range.

It was the first-ever hat-trick in the ISL by an Indian football player as Mumbai registered a commanding 5-1 win.

His second hat-trick came in the semi-final of the 2017-18 season when Sunil Chhetri rose to the occasion and punished FC Pune City to take his team, Bengaluru FC, into the final in their debut ISL season.

The striker kicked-started the rout by nodding in an Udanta Singh cross in the 13th minute before scoring from the spot just before the half-time.

Though Pune pulled one back to liven up the contest, the Bengaluru FC captain put the match beyond their reach with a quality finish in the dying moments to take his team to the final.

A performer against Mumbai City FC

Sunil Chhetri’s favourite opponent in the ISL, incidentally, has been his former team Mumbai City FC.

Chhetri has scored nine goals against the Islanders.

Besides former ISL champions MCFC, Chhetri has produced his best performances against Kerala Blasters FC and NorthEast United FC, against whom he has scored seven times each in the ISL.

Sunil Chhetri’s best ISL season

Though the captain of the Indian football team has been a regular feature in the Indian Super League, it was the 2017-18 season that saw the best of him.

Turning up for Bengaluru FC in their debut season, Sunil Chhetri took it upon himself to ensure that the team from the garden city enjoyed a fine run. The team topped the league table and went on to make it to the final.

Bengaluru FC netted 40 goals in their 21 matches with Venezuelan Miku accounting for 15 goals. Sunil Chhetri, meanwhile, scored 14 goals and managed two assists. Both players were in contention for the ISL Golden Boot award during the season.

But what stood out about the Bengaluru FC captain was his eagerness to play his team-mates into the game by managing a total of 15 key passes (goal-scoring opportunities) and his hunger to score which reflected in the 46 shots on target he took.

First player to score 50 goals in ISL

During the 2021-22 season, Sunil Chhetri became the first football player to score 50 goals in the ISL. At the time, he also took the mantle of being the highest goal-scorer in the league, a position which Bartholomew Ogbeche surpassed later in the tournament.

Sunil Chhetri’s 50th ISL goal came in Bengaluru FC’s match against Hyderabad FC, which the Blues lost 2-1. Trailing 2-0 in the match with three minutes to full time, Cleiton Silva fed Udanta Singh on his right with a delectable ball and the pacy winger crossed for Chhetri who found the back of the net with aplomb.

Sunil Chhetri becomes highest goal scorer in ISL

Chhetri's landmark 64th goal to topple Bartholomew Ogbeche as the highest goal scorer in the ISL came against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the ISL 2024-25 season. He converted a penalty to rise to the perch of the top scorers' list.

Sunil Chhetri’s total goals in ISL