Indian Premier Futsal League 2017: Ronaldinho Leads Delhi Dragons Past Mumbai

Delhi Dragons took the opening contest of the 2017 Indian Premier Futsal League on Friday, as Ronaldinho scored all of his team's goals in a 4-3 win over Ryan Giggs' Mumbai Warriors. 

Dragons led 4-1 going into the final period before Mumbai launched a fierce comeback that fell just short.

For a look at the full results and standings, visit the Premier League Futsal's official website.

Recap

Delhi and Mumbai kicked off the tournament in the only match on Friday, giving the fans their first look at Ronaldinho and Giggs, the two team captains.

It was the Brazilian who got on the scoresheet first, as Delhi dominated the first period and missed several good chances before finishing off a successful one-two.

A briliant individual effort from Rico Zulkarnain one minute before the end of the first period kept things tight, however, and Mumbai appeared to have momentum going into the first break.

Indian actor Tiger Shroff was loving it:

The second period was a cagey affair, but Ronaldinho doubled his tally after 33 minutes to restore Delhi's advantage and added a third goal shortly before half-time. Giggs and Diego Nunes would also go close to scoring, but the half-time score was 3-1.

The match opened up in the second half, and while Mumbai mustered more chances, Delhi were lethal on the counter. Van Gils' shot was only narrowly kept out, but Ronaldinho was on hand yet again to score an incredible fourth goal, giving his side a huge advantage heading into the final period.

But there was plenty of drama still to come. Henrique Catarino and Ronaldinho both ran into orange cards, and in no time, Lucas Francini and Giggs put two goals on the board to set up a thrilling finale.

The final 10 minutes saw plenty more chances but no more goals, as Delhi hung on for a narrow win. Bengaluru Royals, Kerala Cobras, Telugu Tigers and Chennai Singhams will kick off their campaigns on Saturday.