Two of the most popular clubs in the Indian Super League, Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan (previously known as Atletico de Kolkata and ATK World) have now become a regular opening fixture in the ISL. Since the 2017-18 ISL season, when these two sides first met in the curtain-raiser over a 0-0 draw, the Indian football board has made it a point to schedule a faceoff between them to kick off the league campaign.
Kerala Blasters have now faced ATK Mohun Bagan in five consecutive season openers, a fixture that has always helped the Indian Super League to commence on a high owing to the clubs’ huge fanbases. Apart from the curtain-raisers, ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters have also contested in some breathtaking encounters over the years, making this fixture a mouthwatering prospect even for the neutrals.
Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan Head-t0-Head ISL stats
| Teams | Played | Won | Lost | Draw |
| Kerala Blasters FC | 17 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| ATK Mohun Bagan | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
Despite being a part of the ISL since its inception in 2014, Kerala Blasters could never get the success that the Kolkata giants achieved. Over the years, ATK Mohun Bagan have changed its name multiple times and more importantly, improved their transfer policy to bring in the right prospects to dominate the league time and again.
The buys of ISL top scorer Roy Krishna, David Williams, creator Hugo Bumous, young sensation Liston Colaco, Euro Cup star Joni Kauko, English anchor Carl McHugh and his Indian partner Deepak Tangri in recent years, all reek of tremendous ambition that the three-time champions want themselves to be associated with.
Kerala Blasters, on the other hand, have got little success in recruiting players. Barring Sahal Abdul Samad and to some extent Sandeep Singh, the Tuskers have largely struggled. Though the incoming of Adrian Luna last summer has raised hope amongst fans, the clubs’ history leaves very little space for it.
Starting as one of the title contenders when ISL had first started, Kerala Blasters did manage to keep Atletico de Kolkata at the bay in the first season when they drew once and won the reverse fixture. However, since the Kolkata outfit defeated Kerala in the ISL 2014 final, they remained unbeaten in the next five games.
Though the Tuskers returned stronger to win three of their next six clashes against ATK and remain unbeaten in the process as well, ATK Mohun Bagan have started a new domineering era with three wins in three encounters.
Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan: Results
| Date | Match | Competition | Result |
| October 26, 2014 | ATK vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 1-1 |
| November 21, 2014 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL | 2-1 |
| December 20, 2014 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL final | 0-1 |
| October 13, 2015 | ATK vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 2-1 |
| November 10, 2015 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL | 2-3 |
| October 5, 2016 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL | 0-1 |
| November 29, 2016 | ATK vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 1-1 |
| December 18, 2016 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL final | 4-5 (penalties) |
| November 17, 2017 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL | 0-0 |
| February 8, 2018 | ATK vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 2-2 |
| September 29, 2018 | ATK vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 0-2 |
| January 25, 2019 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL | 1-1 |
| October 20, 2019 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK | ISL | 2-1 |
| January 12, 2020 | ATK vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 0-1 |
| November 20, 2020 | Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan | ISL | 0-1 |
| January 31, 2021 | ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters | ISL | 3-2 |
| November 19, 2021 | ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasers | ISL | 4-2 |
Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan: Top Scorers
Roy Krishna: 4 goals, 1 assist
It is no surprise that ATK Mohun Bagan’s star forward and one of ISL’s top goalscorer Roy Krishna has been the most lethal striker for the Kolkata giants against Kerala. The Fijian international loves scoring against the Tusker and has four goals and an assist to his name against Kerala in the Indian Super League.
Bartholomew Ogbeche: 2 goals
Kerala Blasters’ best weapon against ATK was Bartholomew Ogbeche, who had followed Eelco Schattorie when the Tuskers had poached the Dutch coach from NorthEast United FC. And the Nigerian turned out to be a good investment as well with his 2 goals against ATK, which came at a winning cause.
When will ATK Mohun Bagan face Kerala Blasters FC next?
The very recent encounter between ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters took place on the first day of the ongoing ISL 2021-22 season when the Mariners emerged 4-2 victorious at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Goa. The date of their next clash, the reverse fixture, is yet to be released by ISL.
