ISL 2026: A Dominant Mohun Bagan Thump Odisha 5-1: Powered by a Maclaren Hattrick

Image: AIFF

Mohun Bagan Supergiant took on Odisha FC on Friday to consolidate their lead at the top of the league. Odisha FC have garnered two draws in the league so far. Purushottaman's men were looking to garner some positives from this away game which was initially supposed to be their home game but has to be changed due to lack of availability of the Kalinga Stadium. Mohun Bagan took the game away in the first half itself with an absolutely thumping 4-1 scoreline. The scoring began in the 14th minute through a clinical cross from Subhasish that found Maclaren's head who slotted the ball past Amrinder with precision. The lead was doubled in the 24th minute by Maclaren again. This time the ball came from the right flank through Liston Colaco who completed a low cross that Maclaren calmly placed in the far corner. The Odisha defence had no answers to this dominant display as Alberto stepped up for Mohun Bagan's third goal on the 42nd minute. This time it was the turn of a long range effort from around 25 yards out. A low driver found the bottom far corner beyond a stretching Amrinder. Odisha suddenly scored against the run of play in the 43rd minute directly from the centre this time. A long ball confused Kaith and Alberto and enabled Rahim Ali to take advantage and put the ball in an open net. But the onslaught of the Mariners continued into the added time through the usual combination of Liston and Maclaren again. Similar to the second goal, a Liston low cross was tapped in by Maclaren. A frist half hattrick for Maclaren made the scoreline a dominant 4-1 going into the half time. As the match looked all but settled, Mohun Bagan mostly started to go through the motions in the second half. Intermittent chances were created through the combination play of Cummings, Dimi, Maclaren, Liston, Thapa and Apuia. But Odisha FC failed to make any positive mark in the second half at all. Lobera made similar changes to the last outing. Tom and Manvir were brought on to replace Mehtab Singh and Cummings. Later Amey Ranawade and Deepak Tangdi replaced Subhasish and Thapa. Finally Sahal was brought in around the 79 minute mark to replace Dimi. Odisha on the other hand brought on Vanspaul and Mafela. The attacking pressure that Odisha FC was trying to display backfired in the 88 minute mark when Manvir Singh played a through ball to open it up again for Maclaren who calmly placed the ball past Amrinder for his 4th of the match. The gulf between the two teams was too telling to bridge. With the fate of the match sealed, Mohun Bagan played out a comfortable second half to make it 12 points from 4 matches. In this curtailed league format, Mohun Bagan are already looking favorites to retain their crown. Scoring 5 goals in two consecutive matches for the first time in ISL, Mohun Bagan have stamped their authority on the league definitively.