Panos faces former club Punjab FC as Mohun Bagan seek consistency, quicker gameplay and another crucial ISL victory.

The ISL is back in Kolkata, with Mohun Bagan Super Giants set to face Punjab FC. In the last ISL showdown,in Kolkata. Green and Maroon won by a narrow margin, facing a tough challenge from the travelling side, Chennaiyin FC. It was Liston Colaco who came in as a substitute and placed a sweet cross to Manvir Singh who pushed the ball into the net in the 85th minute of the game. After the match, Mohun Bagan coach Panagiotis Dilmperis himself accepted that the performance was not up to the mark.

Amid rising questions about Mohun Bagan’s consistency in terms of performance, the contest against Punjab is going to be challenging. Mariner’s coach will not have forgotten the disappointing performance against his former side, Punjab FC, in the IFA Shield semi-final that happened just a few days ago. The match went to penalties as both teams failed to score in the 120 minutes of gameplay, Vishal Kaith became the fortress in front of the nets and led Mohun Bagan to victory in the IFA Shield final, which eventually became Panagiotis Dilmperis’s first success in India.

In the ISL chart, Punjab FC is currently holding the second position with 7 points. Before going in action against his former side, Mohun Bagan head coach praised Punjab FC head coach saying, “ Pavlos is my best friend. He was a mentor to me at the beginning of my coaching career in 2010. He is a great coach and a great person, and there are things about his coaching that I really admire.“

All eyes on Mohun Bagan

Since the appointment of Panagiotis Dilmperis, the gameplay of the Mohun Bagan players has looked unsettled. It seemed the game style of the new head coach does not suit them so well. Though, the stats are telling something else, Panos has lost two matches among 9 games he managed with Mohun Bagan; the Mariners also enjoyed the IFA Shield 2026 success under him.

The ISL so far has not gone well for Mohun Bagan; a loss in the first match and two tough wins raised eyebrows among many. The test against an in-form Punjab FC will give more hints on the injury-struck Mohun Bagan side.

Jamie Maclaren can return to the side after a long gap; he was last seen against North East United SC in the IFA Shield 2026, though uncertainty on the Brazilian midfielder Miguel and Apuia are still there.

“We had only 13 players available because of national team commitments and injuries. We even had to try players in unfamiliar positions. That doesn’t mean tomorrow’s game will be easy,” Mohun Bagan head coach said.

Mohun Bagan released three players Suhail Bhatt, Abhishek Sooryavanshi and Priyansh Dubey for the SAFF Championship set to be played in Dhaka from 4th November.

Amid several questions lingering, Panos addressed the media, “After the game, we identified the things we didn’t do well. We had several individual meetings with the players and meetings with the whole team. We also tried to change certain things during our training sessions.“

A tough Saturday incoming for Panos

Injuries, unavailable players and so many questions on performance; Saturday is going to be a challenging day for Mohun Bagan head coach who will face his previous team. Giving insight into his feelings before tomorrow’s match, Panos said, “I am an emotional person, and I have connections with all these players and the club. But when you are coaching, there is no time to think about emotions or feelings. You have to be focused and win the game.”

He also added, “Mostly, we are focused on ourselves. We have to develop our game and do certain things better. If we can do all these things better, I believe we can win this game.“

On the test against Punjab and the areas where they can improve, he said, “The basic thing is that we have to improve the speed of our actions and the speed of the ball. This is something we have been missing. We need to play a little faster.“

The match will unfold many exciting aspects of both sides, at 7.30PM IST on Saturday in the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.