Indian Super League 2026 GameWeek 3 BREAKDOWN and BEST XI of the Week

-: ISL GameWeek 3 BREAKDOWN :-

Oh how the tables have turned! Football never ceases to amaze us. In this short ISL season, every match matters and GameWeek 3 has changed everything!

As predicted in the previous GW2 Breakdown Article, table toppers East Bengal FC got demoted from the 1st all the way down to 5th position after their 2-1 loss against Jamshedpur FC. The credit goes to golden sub, Rei Tachikawa, whose wonder strike boosted the Red Miners to the 2nd position in the League Table. FC Goa won 1-0 against Sporting Delhi which settles them in the 3rd position and Mumbai City FC manages to get a point against NorthEast United FC with a 1-1 scoreline. 7th placed Bengaluru FC got handed their first loss by Punjab FC in 8th place after a brace from Effiong. Inter Kashi, the newly-promoted club of ISL currently in 6th position, with a final scoreline of 2-1 against KBFC, registered their first win. Odisha FC was held by Chennaiyin FC to a drawn 1-1 result placing them at 9th and 11th respectively. Last but the not the least, the biggest scoreline comes from Mohun Bagan who thrashed Mohammedan SC in the mini-derby with a dominating victory statement of 5-1 that bumps them all the way to the top of the leaderboard.

-:Best XI of the Week:-

Arshdeep Singh of Punjab FC is the keeper that stands out. He ensured a clean sheet against Bengaluru FC, by making 2 saves and 12 recoveries.

In defence, Amey Ranawade got his first start for the Mariners and performed like a proper full-back. He made extremely deep runs and delivered clinical crosses into the box. Akash Sangwan is in terrific form for FC Goa. Besides giving an assist and 3 key passes, delivering accurate long balls is his forte. Stephen Eze is clearly the best defender of GameWeek 3. He single-handedly proved enough to defeat East Bengal FC in VYBK. From defending like a wall to scoring a header from a corner, it was nothing short of a memorable performance! Carlos Delgado scored for Odisha FC as well, while making 7 defensive contributions and 30 accurate passes in the game.

In the attack, Robson Robinho has finally found his groove! In 38 minutes of gametime, he scored two goals for trailing Bagan at home, both goals coming just 5 minutes apart. Dimitrios Petratos replaced him shortly, and his performance was also note-worthy. Though it wasn’t his preferred position, Lobera’s gameplan allowed him to move around the attacking half and make progressive runs. In the end, he scored an amazing volley goal from 25 yards out that swerved past the goalkeeper- a ‘Goal of The ISL Season’ contender!

Madih Talal was the playmaker for Jamshedpur FC. After mutual termination of contract, he took revenge against his former club by giving a masterclass for the Red Miners! His set pieces were dangerous indeed. Though his gameplay was lacklustre in the first half, he delivered his part in the next half. His subtle back heel pass set up Rei Tachikawa to score the 2nd goal and win the match. Manvir Singh, on the other hand, got his first start in ISL for Mohun Bagan and he combined with Amey to exert pressure, send in barrage of crosses and take a shot by himself now and then. His weak attempt rebounded to Robson, who then scored his second goal. He scored a goal too by heading a cross from Tekcham that grazed the thigh of MSC defender into the goal.

The strikers of the week are first-timers in ISL. Nsungusi Effiong scored a brace, a 1-man unstoppable show that gave Punjab FC three points against tough opponents, Bengaluru FC. Nauris Petkevičius scored from a half-chance with a powerful strike. Though he missed a big chance, he was involved in playing many passes. His balanced performance led to the first win for Inter Kashi in ISL 2025/26.

Sergio Lobera is definitely the coach of the week with the biggest margin win of GW 3: 5-1 against MSC. It takes courage to make 4 changes to the Starting XI of a winning team, then concede in the first 10 minutes and comeback all guns blazing to win the match 5-1! With beautiful football being played under his guidance, defending Champions Mohun Bagan has risen to the top of the League Table.


                                                            BEST XI of GameWeek 3

-:Expectations from GameWeek 4:-

All eyes will be on the BLOCKBUSTER MATCH between East Bengal FC v/s FC Goa. FC Goa remains unbeaten and EBFC has lost their first match. Both teams having dropped points, and will for the win at all cost to stay in the title race. In case of Mohun Bagan, they will play against Odisha FC in a partially closed stadium, which supporters can attend by collecting free tickets distributed by the management – a tradition they have followed for a match every season, just for the fans! With 9 points from 3 matches and sitting comfortably at 1st in ISL Table, Bagan will establish dominance and make sure no other team can snatch this position from them.

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Author - Anik Nandi

Writer, Journalist and Editorial Head at MBFT