Former champions ATK suffered a 0-2 defeat to two-time runners-up Kerala Blasters in the opening match of the fifth Indian Super League (ISL) at the Saltlake Stadium here on Saturday.
Matej Poplatnik and Slavisia Stojanovic scored in the second half as Kerala scored only their second win over the Kolkata franchise, and first since the 2014 edition.
After enduring a nightmarish ninth place finish in the last season, ATK might have overhauled the squad roping in a trusted coach in Steve Coppell but their fate remained unchanged as they struggled to keep pace with the Kerala Blasters.
The David James-coached outfit looked in their elements right from the start with Slovenian Poplatnik continuously raiding ATK's box before he broke the deadlock in the 77th minute.
However, it was Stojanovic who took the first shot at the goal with his left footer but it deflected off Gerson Vieira.
An alert Poplatnik got behind the defence and slotted the ball home with a perfect finish to bring up the first goal of the ISL opening night.
There was more misery in store for ATK as the Serbian Stojanovic doubled the lead from a long ball from Halicharan Narzary.
The Kerala No 8 took the the ball in his stride with a touch to his left, cut it back in on his right and curled it beautifully in the top right corner to seal their first win over ATK since 2014.
Kerala Blasters had last beaten ATK, then Atletico de Kolkata, in the inaugural season of ISL on November 21.
ATK will play North East United FC at home in their second match of the season here on October 4.
Having handed debut in the very first match of the season, India's U-17 World Cup hero Dheeraj Singh showed early signs that he's here to stay when he made a stunning save to deny ATK captain Manuel Lanzarote in the 15th minute.
Earlier Indian athletics golden girl Hima Das presented the ceremonial match ball to kick off the fifth season of the top-tier league.
Revenge will be on the minds of Bengaluru FC as they take on defending champions Chennaiyin FC in the second match of the fifth Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament here on Sunday.
Chennaiyin had clinched the ISL title last year in style after defeating BFC 3-2 in the final and they would look to settle the scores.
Last year, BFC had scripted a fairytale narrative, winning 13 of their 18 matches to qualify for the playoffs with four games to spare. But they faltered in the final.
This year, Bengaluru FC laid claim to the inaugural Super Cup after drubbing Kingfisher East Bengal in the final. Thereafter, they travelled to Spain for pre-season training and played against Barcelona B and Villarreal B.
After returning, BFC played a couple of friendlies with I-League clubs Chennai City and Gokulam Keral.
Chennai, on the other hand, survived some anxious moments in the last season to qualify for the semifinal slot. They ploughed their way back under the guidance of English coach John Gregory who had instilled a sense of belief into the squad.
Chennaiyin's pre-season has not gone their way as they lost all their four games in Malaysia against Felda United, Malaysia U-19s, Terengganu FC and Malaysian Indian Football Association.
Last week, they drew 0-0 against I-League club Indian Arrows.
Chennaiyin also faced the setback of losing their center-back Henrique Sereno, who was the best player last season.
Midfielder Rene Mihelic and forward Bikramjit Singh's departure would also prove costly this season.
