ISL 2025-26: Chennaiyin FC battle past Sporting Club Delhi for first home win of the season

Chennaiyin FC registered a hard-fought 1-0 win over SC Delhi in a nail-biting Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 match here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday.

At the early evening kick-off, Farukh Choudhary provided a moment of inspiration to cheer up the sparse home support still filtering into the arena. The win moved Clifford Miranda’s Chennaiyin to 10th place behind Delhi, whose four-match unbeaten run came to an end.

It was a contrasting performance from the home side in both halves. In the first 45 minutes, the players were aggressive from the ball and pressed all over the pitch, led by striker Daniel Chima Chukwu. Chukwu was more than a handful up front as centre-back Pritam Kotal and midfielder Mohammed Ali Bemammer clattered into the Delhi attackers.

Farukh had an excellent first half, moving across the front line and linking play with full-back Mandar Rao Dessai and creator Alberto Noguera.

Chennaiyin’s early pressure paid off in the eleventh minute. The home side worked the ball from the right side to the left, forcing Delhi out of its defensive shape. Farukh, who had wandered into a space on the edge of the penalty area, was found by an initial pass from Noguera, and the striker confused everyone in the stadium with what he did next. From an acute angle, Farukh used his weak foot to cut across the ball and find enough strength to put it into the top corner, leaving Nora Fernandes as a bystander in goal.

Delhi responded immediately afterwards when Mohammed Aimen picked up Matija Babovic’s run in the Chennaiyin area with a clipped ball over the top. The attacker brought the ball down, but failed to generate enough power with his shot on the turn.

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Chennaiyin regained control for the remainder of the half but spurned a glorious chance to make it 2-0 before half-time.

Noguera broke through the middle after a one-on-three counter-attack, before playing Irfan Yadwad on the right. While Noguera occupied the attention of the Delhi defenders, the striker’s cross found Chukwu’s run behind. The Nigerian took a little too long to bring the ball down before firing an effort on target, allowing Alex Saji to make a crucial final block to prevent Delhi from falling two goals behind at half-time.

Miranda’s men could not maintain the same pace in the second period. Delhi were at the forefront and forced Chennaiyin to make mistakes on the ball.

Of Delhi’s 11 shots in the match, eight came in the second half, but crucially the players did not get the right placement to trouble Mohammad Nawaz in goal. In the 51st minute, Saji got a free header from a free kick, which went straight to Nawaz.

Three minutes later, a bad pass from behind led to a loss of ball, from which Joseph Sunny shot his effort over the bar after a Babovic attempt. The Chennaiyin assistant coach stepped out of the dugout and urged his backline to slow down.

Delhi’s front three, Aimen, Babovic and Sunny, started seeing more of the ball, forcing Chennaiyin back into their own half.

The visitor kept going until the death, which provided an anxious ending for the Chennaiyin fans. In the final seconds of stoppage time, K. Sourav’s snapshot from the edge of the penalty area narrowly missed the far post, allowing the home fans to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the first home win of the season.

Published on April 17, 2026