Atletico de Kolkata have kicked off the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Mumbai City on Sunday.
In the first match of the 2014 ISL, in front of a packed house of 70,000 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, Atletico picked up all three points thanks to goals from Fikru Teferra Lemessa, Borja Fernandez and Arnal Llibert.
The Atletico Madrid-owned side, who count Indian cricket great Sourav Ganguly among their co-owners, opened up the scoring in the 27th minute when Ethiopian striker Lemessa became the first scorer in ISL history when he raced onto a through ball from Jofre Mateu and cheekily chipped advancing Mumbai keeper Subrata Paul.
Atletico doubled their advantage with about 20 minutes remaining when former Real Madrid and Valladolid midfielder Borja cracked a stunning effort into the top corner from outside the area.
The finishing touches were placed in injury-time when Spanish forward Llibert, who had replaced captain and marquee player Luis Garcia six minutes earlier, slotted home Lemessa's pass from close range.
After creating history with the first victory of the new Indian league, Antonio Lopez Habas' Atletico will now prepare for the October 16 clash with NorthEast United FC in Guwahati while the Peter Reid-managed Mumbai, who were without Freddie Ljungberg and Nicolas Anelka, will host FC Pune City on October 18.
2014 Indian Super League - Match 1
Atletico de Kolkata: 3 (Fikru Teferra Lemessa 27', Borja Fernandez 69', Arnal Llibert 90+3') Mumbai City FC: 0 Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, West Bengal - 70,000
