ISL 2021-22: Sunil Chhetri becomes the first player to score 50 Indian Super League goals
While Bengaluru FC suffered a 1-2 loss to Hyderabad FC, Sunil Chhetri scored his landmark 50th goal on Friday in the Indian Super League, becoming the first player to do so. With the goal, the talismanic Indian forward has also piped Bartholomew Ogbeche to become the all-time leading goal-scorer in the league.
The Blues were down by two goals when Chhetri tucked home his 50th goal in the league in the 87th minute of the game to slash the deficit into half. However, Marco Pezzaiuoli's men couldn't conjure up a fight to come away with a point against the Nizams.
Sunil Chhetri becomes the first player to reach half a century of goals in the #HeroISL. 
Had to be him! ⚡️ Sunil Chhetri becomes the first player to reach half a century of goals in the #HeroISL.
#WeAreBFC #CaptainFantastic #SC11 https://t.co/3cw7WXPUt7
Ahead of the game, all eyes were transfixed on the battle between Ogbeche and Chhetri, both on the prowl for the landmark goal. “Your record should be safe from me” was tweeted by Sunil Chhetri when Ogbeche broke Marcelinho and Chhetri's record to become the top scorer in the league. However, that was not the case.
Congratulations Bart Ogbeche on getting to the big number last night. Phenomenal feat achieved by a phenomenal striker. Going by how many I've missed this season, your record should be safe from me for some time, my friend.😉
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old forward had a slow start to the season, going goalless in 11 matches. But Chhetri finally got the monkey off his back, when scored against FC Goa. Since then he has had three goals and an assist in the last five matches.
Goalscoring wise, Chhetri's best period in the ISL came in the 2017-18 season when the Indian skipper netted 14 goals and managed two assists. In 2018, he won the Super Cup and won the 2018–19 ISL title with the Blues.
The race for the ISL top-scorer title is far from over
While Chhetri has etched his name in the history books to become the first player to get into Club 50, the race for the crown of the all-time leading goalscorer is far from over.
"We're going to take this one game at a time, and I do believe we can make it. After four or five games, we were at tenth or eleventh place in the League and now we're fighting for a semifinal spot. We're not going to stop believing."
#WeAreBFC #BFCHFC #ComeTogether 🔵 https://t.co/susDpqqtKj
Bart Ogbeche has been firing on all cylinders this season. The Nigerian forward has already scored 14 goals in 15 matches so far. While Sunil Chhetri's 50 goal contribution has come from 110 matches, Ogbeche has racked up 49 goals in just 72 games.
The Hyderabad FC star is on his way to bag this season's golden boot and could very well add a couple more to his tally before the 2021-22 season ends. Meanwhile, Chhetri has recently been amongst goals and has shown he is far from over.