Template:Infobox football club season The 2024–25 season is the fifth season in Punjab FC's existence, and club's second season in the Indian Super League.[1] In addition to the league, they will also compete in the 2024 Durand Cup and the 2025 Super Cup.
Players
First-team squad
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Transfers
In
Loans In
| Start Date | End Date | Position | Player | From club | Transfer fee | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 July 2024 | End of Season | FW | Template:Flagicon Nihal Sudeesh | Template:Flagicon Kerala Blasters | None | [8] |
| 5 September 2024 | End of Season | DF | Template:Flagicon Rakesh Meitei | Template:Flagicon Kerala Blasters | None | [9] |
Loans out
| Start Date | End Date | Position | Player | To club | Transfer fee | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 2024 | End of Season | DF | Template:Flagicon Tejas Krishna | Template:Flagicon Rajasthan United | None | [10] |
| 1 September 2024 | End of Season | FW | Template:Flagicon Ranjeet Pandre | Template:Flagicon Gokulam Kerala | ||
| 4 January 2025 | End of Season | MF | Template:Flagicon Samuel Kynshi | Template:Flagicon Rajasthan United | None |
Out
Personnel
Current technical staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Template:Flagicon Panagiotis Dilmperis[14] |
| Assistant coach | Template:Flagicon Konstantinos Katsaras |
| Assistant coach | Template:Flagicon Sankarlal Chakraborty |
| Goalkeeping coach | Template:Flagicon Manish Timsina |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Template:Flagicon Papaioannou Ioannis |
| Team manager | Template:Flagicon Kamaldeep Singh |
| Technical director | Template:Flagicon Nikolaos Topoliatis |
| Technical director (Youth) | Template:Flagicon Giuseppe Cristaldi |
| Team doctor | Template:Flagicon Sidak Singh Dhillon |
| Chief analyst | Template:Flagicon Chaitanya Kulkarni |
| Head of Scouting | Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon Luiz Greco |
| Chief Scout | Template:Flagicon Anush Aathithya |
Summary
August
Punjab FC were placed in Group C of the Durand Cup. They qualified for the knockouts after 2 wins and a draw against Kerala Blasters. In the quarterfinals, Punjab faced Mohun Bagan. The match ended a 3–3 draw after regular time, and it went to a penalty shootout, in which Punjab lost and were eliminated. This marked the team's best performance in any national cup competition on the senior level.
September
Punjab played their first league match of the season away against Kerala Blasters on 15 September 2024,[15] a 2–1 win. Leon Augustine won a penalty in the final minutes of regular time, that was converted by Luka Majcen who had been subbed in. After scoring, Majcen ran to the corner flag, uprooted it and placed his jersey over it, as a response to Kerala Blasters fans chanting against him. In the second minute of stoppage time, Blasters scored an equaliser, but Luka Majcen assisted Filip Mrzljak to score from a small angle in the fifth minute of injury time to win the game for Punjab. Later, Rahul KP's challenge for the ball left Majcen with a fractured jaw, ruling him out for the next 3 games. Punjab followed this away win with two back-to-back home wins against Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC by 2-1 and 2-0 respectively. This made Panagiotis Dilmperis the first manager in the Indian Super League to win his first 3 ISL games. Pulga Vidal scored directly from a free kick against Hyderabad FC to give Punjab the lead, a match they won 2-0.
October
On 18 October, Punjab faced Bengaluru away in a top-of-table clash, narrowly losing 1-0 despite Bengaluru playing with 10 men for majority of the second half. After the first loss of the season, Punjab returned to winning ways on 31 October with a 3-2 Diwali night win over Chennaiyin FC. Chennaiyin's Wilmar Jordan Gil scored against his former club Punjab and did not celebrate. This match marked Majcen's return, who scored two goals in three minutes at the beginning of the second half.
November
From there, Punjab lost 2 games in a row against FC Goa away and NorthEast United at home, on 6 and 23 November respectively. On November 26, Punjab's away trip to Mumbai saw a 3–0 triumph over Mumbai City FC, the defending champions. Pulga Vidal scored right before the end of the first half. Filip Mrzljak won a penalty in the 52nd minute that was converted by Luka Majcen. Mushaga Bakenga scored his first and only ISL goal for the club.
December
In December, Punjab followed the Mumbai win with a 2–0 win over Mohammedan SC at home on 6 December, with goals from Majcen and Mrzljak. On 13 December, Punjab travelled to Jamshedpur and lost 2–1 at the Furnace. Pulga Vidal scored the solitary goal for Punjab, with Javier Siverio's brace winning the game for Jamshedpur. Filip Mrzljak picked up an injury at the beginning of the game. On 16 December, the trip to Kolkata ended in a horror show as Punjab went from leading 2–0 to losing 2–4 to East Bengal. Asmir Suljic and Pulga Vidal's strikes had given Punjab the two-goal lead in the first half. In the second half, Punjab conceded 4 goals within a space of 21 minutes. The equaliser for East Bengal was scored by Hijazi Maher. This also included two own goals by Suresh Meitei, one of which was awarded to East Bengal player Vishnu PV. In the 67th minute, David Lalhlansanga scored the 4th goal for East Bengal. Ivan Novoselec picked up an injury and had to be substituted out, before Khaiminthang Lhungdim was sent off due to a second yellow card. On 19 December, Mushaga Bakenga was released by the club by mutual agreement, and a day later he announced his retirement from football.
Due to Novoselec's injury and Lhungdim's suspension, the next game against Mohun Bagan at home saw Pramveer get his debut, becoming the youngest player to play in the ISL. Ricky Shabong opened the scoring in the 11th minute, a lead that Punjab maintained in the entire first half. In the second half, Alberto Rodriguez scored the equaliser for Mohun Bagan. Pulga Vidal got a yellow card for a challenge on Liston Colaco. He showed disagreement with the referee's decision by clapping sarcastically, for which the referee Rahul Kumar Gupta showed him another yellow card, sending him off the field. Soon after, Melroy Assisi's challenge on Anirudh Thapa was deemed to be enough for a penalty to be awarded to Bagan, which was scored by Jamie Maclaren. Alberto Rodriguez later scored his second goal of the game, Punjab losing 1-3.
January
For the home clash against Kerala Blasters on 5 January, only one out of the 6 foreigners was available (Asmir). Punjab lost the match 1–0 with Noah Sadaoui scoring a penalty kick for Kerala Blasters. On 9 January, Punjab announced the signing of Greek forward Petros Giakoumakis as a replacement for Mushaga Bakenga. On 10 January, Punjab played a 1–1 draw away against NorthEast United, with Lhungdim scoring a 82nd-minute equaliser, before receiving 2 yellow cards in the last minutes and being sent off. Head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis was also sent off in the 86th minute, with both the assistant coaches receiving yellow cards as well. Dilmperis moved to the stands shouting at the referee in anger. Assistant coach Sankarlal Chakraborty managed the team for the home match against Mumbai City on 16 January. Lhungdim and Nikhil Prabhu were also suspended for the fixture. The match ended 1-1, with Luka Majcen scoring for Punjab. Petros Giakoumakis made his debut in ISL. The next game at home against Jamshedpur on 28 January ended in another 2–1 loss as the club's winless streak extended to 7 games. The only goal for the home side was scored by Vidal with a magnificent strike from outside the box that curled inwards and found its way to the back of the net.
February
On 1 February, Punjab faced Bengaluru in Delhi and won their first game since 6 December with a scoreline of 3-2. The winner was scored by Majcen in injury time after an injury time equaliser for Bengaluru by Rahul Bheke. Punjab's second away trip to Kolkata of the league season for facing Mohun Bagan ended in a 3–0 loss on 5 February. Punjab played an organised game in the first half, not giving many chances to the league leaders. In the 55th minute Petros Giakoumakis hit the post from a precise pass given by Vidal. Bagan scored shortly after and later scored 2 more goals. On 10 February the team faced Odisha FC away. Giakoumakis scored his first goal for the club shortly after Rahul KP (now having moved from Blasters to Odisha FC) was sent off. Odisha equalised in the second half due to a blunder from goalkeeper Ravi Kumar and Punjab was unable to score a winner despite the one-man advantage.
On 15 February away against Chennaiyin, Punjab conceded an early penalty goal. Majcen equalised in the start of the second half and the team had several chances at goal, unable to finish. Chima Chukwu scored a late goal for Chennaiyin and Punjab failed to convert any chances afterwards, losing 2-1. The 22 February home clash against East Bengal went badly as the team went 3–0 down by the 54th minute. Vidal scored a goal in response but once again Punjab failed to find a goal out of several chances and lost 3-1. Punjab FC played their last "home" game of the season on 27 February against FC Goa, with Filip and Vidal unavailable due to injury and suspension respectively. Ivan Novoselec picked up an injury in the first half of the match and had to be subbed off. Carl McHugh scored Goa's only goal in the 45th minute. Punjab were yet again unable to score, playing with just one foreigner (Giakoumakis) for the last 30 minutes. After the game, manager Dilmperis praised the players for their hard work, tactical execution and discipline despite the bad results. He commented that Punjab's games were like "watching the same movie again and again".[16] This 1–0 loss ended the club's chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
March
With the playoffs out of reach, the team went to March with the aim of ending the season positively. On 6 March, against 12th placed Hyderabad FC, Punjab won 3-1. Mohammed Suhail's shot hit HFC defender Alex Saji before going in, being given as an own goal. In the second half Suhail assisted Majcen to double the lead before substitute Shami Singamayum scored to make it 3–0 in the 86th minute. Shami, aged just 17 years, became the youngest player ever to score a goal in the Indian Super League. In added time, Chhunga Hmar scored a long ranger to deny Punjab the clean sheet. For the last match of the league season, Punjab travelled to Kolkata to face last-placed Mohammedan SC. Pulga Vidal opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a team goal involving him, Asmir, Majcen and Tekcham. Later in first half, Majcen missed a one-on-one chance against Mohammedan's Padam Chhetri. In the second half, Majcen scored to make it 2-0. However, Mohammedan scored two goals in succession as Punjab's defence lost concentration. The match ended 2-2, ending PFC's 2nd ISL season with 28 points, 8 wins, 4 draws, 12 losses and a goal difference of -4. Punjab finished 10th out of 13 teams.
April
Based on the ISL table, Punjab FC were drawn to face tournament hosts Odisha FC in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Super Cup. The match on 21 April saw Punjab winning 3-0, with goals from Suljic, Vidal and Nihal Sudheesh; and a good performance from goalkeeper Muheet Shabir.
Competitions
Durand Cup
Group C
Matches
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Knockout Stage
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Indian Super League
League table
Template:2024–25 Indian Super League points table
Matches
The league fixtures from September till December were announced by the FSDL and AIFF on 25 August 2024.[17]
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Super Cup
Bracket
{{#lst:2025 Super Cup (India, April)|Bracket}}
Matches
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Punjab State Super League
Template:Main 2024–25 Punjab State Super League
Notes
Statistics
Squad appearances and goals
All stats are correct as of match played on 3 May 2025
All competitions
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Goal scorers
As of match played on 3 May 2025.
| style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Rank | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |No. | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Pos. | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Nat. | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Name | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |League | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Durand Cup | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Super Cup | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | FW | Template:Flagicon | Luka Majcen | 10 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 30 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Pulga Vidal | 7 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 24 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Filip Mrzljak | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | 7 | FW | Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon | Asmir Suljić | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | 9 | FW | Template:Flagicon | Mushaga Bakenga | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 77 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Nihal Sudeesh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | 3 | DF | Template:Flagicon | Ivan Novoselec | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Ricky Shabong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | DF | Template:Flagicon | Khaiminthang Lhungdim | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Vinit Rai | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 20 | FW | Template:Flagicon | Petros Giakoumakis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 25 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Md. Singamayum Shami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 31 | MF | Template:Flagicon | Leon Augustine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Assists
| style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Rank | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |No. | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Pos. | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Name | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |League | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Durand Cup | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Super Cup | style="background:#FD6019; color:#FFFFFF; text-align:center;Template:Box-shadow border" |Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | MF | Pulga Vidal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 24 | FW | Filip Mrzljak | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2 | 7 | FW | Asmir Suljić | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 6 | MF | Ricky Shabong | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 99 | FW | Luka Majcen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | 4 | MF | Nikhil Prabhu | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | Khaiminthang Lhungdim | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 20 | FW | Petros Giakoumakis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 77 | FW | Nihal Sudeesh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 | 16 | MF | Vinit Rai | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Manglenthang Kipgen | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 29 | FW | Mohammed Suhail F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 44 | FW | Ninthoinganba Meetei | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | FW | Mushaga Bakenga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Clean sheets
| Rank | No. | Name | League | Durand Cup | Super Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ravi Kumar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | 78 | Muheet Shabir | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
References
- ↑ Indian football Premier 1 club license list announced for 2024-25 season. Sportstar(2024-05-16). Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ↑ Punjab FC announce the signings of Vinit Rai and Muheet Shabir ahead of 2024-25 season. Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ↑ Goalkeeper Muheet Shabir in Punjab FC. Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ↑ Punjab FC secure services of midfielder Filip Mrzlijak.
- ↑ Punjab FC rope in Ivan Novoselec and Mushaga Bakenga. indiansuperleague.com(4 August 2024).
- ↑ Punjab FC rope in Ezequiel Vidal. www.indiansuperleague.com(20 August 2024).
- ↑ ISL: Punjab FC signs Greek striker Petros Giakoumakis(9 January 2025).
- ↑ Kerala Blasters FC Confirm Nihal Loan Move to Punjab FC. Kerala Blasters FC(2024-07-09). Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ↑ Loan update. Kerala Blasters FC(2024-09-03). Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ↑ I-League 2024-25: Full updated squad of Rajasthan United FC. Khel Now. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ↑ East Bengal bolster midfield with signing of Madih Talal(27 June 2024).
- ↑ Luka Majcen, Madih Talal among 14 players to depart Punjab FC. www.indiansuperleague.com(2024-06-13). Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ↑ Punjab FC part way with Mushaga Bakenga by Mutual Consent(19 December 2024).
- ↑ Panagiotis Dilmperis named Punjab FC head coach for upcoming season. www.indiansuperleague.com(2024-06-29). Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ↑ Kerala Blasters ISL 2024-25 Schedule: KBFC to kick off Indian Super League season at away against Punjab FC, Sportstar, Team. Sportstar(2024-08-25). Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ↑ Dilmperis discusses FC Goa defeat, Punjab FC's season and his future.
- ↑ ISL 2024-25 Schedule: Full list of Indian Super League matches from September to December, Sportstar, Team. Sportstar(2024-08-25). Retrieved 2024-08-25.