The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue of the final
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Event | 2016 Indian Super League season | ||||||
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Atlético de Kolkata won 4–3 on penalties | |||||||
Date | 18 December 2016 | ||||||
Venue | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, Kerala | ||||||
Man of the Match | Henrique Sereno | ||||||
Referee | Alireza Faghani (Iran) | ||||||
Attendance | 54,146 | ||||||
The 2016 Indian Super League Final was a football match between Atlético de Kolkata and Kerala Blasters on 18 December 2016 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Kerala. It was the final match of the 2016 Indian Super League season, the third season of the Indian Super League. The match was the second time these two teams played each other in the Indian Super League final after both sides met in the inaugural 2014 final. Atlético de Kolkata won that final 1–0.
Kerala Blasters managed to reach the finals after finishing the regular season in second place. Atlético de Kolkata finished their regular season in fourth place. In the semi-finals, Kerala Blasters took on the Delhi Dynamos while Atlético de Kolkata played against Mumbai City. Atlético de Kolkata hosted Mumbai City in the first match of the finals at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium. Helped by a brace from Iain Hume, Atlético de Kolkata won the first leg 3–2. The team then secured their place in the final after a 0–0 draw in Mumbai. The Kerala Blasters hosted Delhi Dynamos in their first match of the finals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and won 1–0. In the second leg, the Blasters were defeated 2–1 and thus the match went to a penalty shootout. The Kerala Blasters managed to win the shootout 3–0 to qualify for the final.
Watched by a crowd of 54,146, the Kerala Blasters took the lead in the 37th minute through Mohammed Rafi. The Kerala Blasters lead only lasted for seven minutes before Henrique Sereno equalized for Atlético de Kolkata. At halftime the score was 1–1. The second half did not see any goals scored and thus the match went into extra-time. The first half of extra-time was goalless and so was the second half. With the score still 1–1 after extra-time, the match went into penalties. Despite Hume missing the first penalty, Atlético de Kolkata won the shoot-out 4–3 to win the Indian Super League Final for the second time in three seasons.