SC Delhi scored three times in the final 20 minutes to beat Mumbai City FC 3-2 in the Indian Super League at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday, 1 November. The visitors trailed 2-0 at half-time before Carlos Fortes, Akshat Mehra and Juan Pena turned the match around for their first win of the 2026-27 season.
Mumbai City had taken control early. Muhammad Ajsal scored in the sixth minute and Zothanpuia added a second in the 27th minute, with P N Noufal providing the assist for both goals. SC Delhi were second best for most of the first half, and Mumbai City looked on course for a comfortable home win.
The match changed after the break. Fortes pulled one back in the 73rd minute, Mehra equalised in the second minute of stoppage time, and Pena completed the comeback in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Pena sprinted forward in the 94th minute, beat two Mumbai City defenders and slotted home the winner, sealing a 3-2 victory for the visitors.
Delhi had lost 3-2 to Bengaluru FC earlier in the season, when Menno Koch scored an 89th-minute winner, so the late goals against Mumbai City reversed a pattern that had cost them points. For Mumbai City, the defeat left them winless after four matches of the season, and coach Manolo Marquez walked off after the game with his side in 11th place in the table.
SC Delhi substitutes change the match
The visitors’ bench made the difference. Four of the five substitutes introduced by the visitors contributed to the three goals, and the fresh legs changed the tempo of the second half. Khel Now’s analysis of the match noted that the substitutes allowed Pena, who had been quiet for much of the game, to play his game, and he finished the move that won it.
Noufal was the best player for Mumbai City in defeat. The winger used his pace to split the SC Delhi back line, registered five key passes and provided two assists, and his first-half display was the main reason Mumbai City led 2-0 at the break. But Mumbai City, playing with a side depleted by injuries, could not hold the lead once SC Delhi pushed forward late on.
The result also continued a difficult start for Marquez. Mumbai City have now gone four matches without a win, and the manner of the defeat, surrendering a two-goal lead in the final 20 minutes, will raise questions about how the side closes out matches. SC Delhi, by contrast, showed the kind of belief that comes from scoring late, and their first win of the season came in the hardest way possible.
SC Delhi and the ISL matchweek 4 picture
The match was part of matchweek 4 of the Indian Super League, which also saw Mohun Bagan beat Punjab FC 2-1 to go top of the early standings, and FC Goa beat Inter Kashi 2-1 for their first win of the season. Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters drew 0-0, while NorthEast United and Bengaluru FC drew 1-1 after a 93rd-minute equaliser from substitute Vinith Venkatesh.
Delhi had also drawn 1-1 with FC Goa at Fatorda earlier in the season, when Alex Vallejo scored in stoppage time to deny them a win. That result, like the loss to Bengaluru, showed a side that stayed in matches without finishing them. Against Mumbai City, the late goals finally went their way, and the three points moved them off the foot of the early table.
At the end of matchweek 4, Mohun Bagan led the table with nine points from four matches, with NorthEast United, Bengaluru FC and Punjab FC close behind. Mumbai City sat 11th after the defeat, and SC Delhi moved off the bottom with their first three points of the campaign.
Delhi next play Inter Kashi FC on 7 November, while Mumbai City face Bengaluru FC on 20 November. The win in Mumbai gives SC Delhi something to build on, and the three late goals will be remembered as the moment their season started. Mumbai City, meanwhile, have nearly three weeks before their next league match to work out why a 2-0 lead at home became a 3-2 defeat.