Flying high after their recent Durand Cup triumph, Mohammedan Sporting got a reality check when a new-look Pune FC rallied to beat them 3-1 in their I-League opener here today.
Spain-born Raul Fabiani (16th and 76th minute) stole the show with a brace and set up another for James Meyer (52nd) to help Pune FC go past Mohammedan Sporting, who were leading with an 11th minute Joshimar d'Silva Martins' strike.
Just after completing his double, Fabiani, who received a yellow card for a hand ball in the 28th minute, celebrated by taking off his jersey but was sent off in the 77th minute for a second booking.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Pune FC, under new coach Mike Snoei, thwarted Mohammedan Sporting's attempts for a comeback for a fine start to their campaign.
Having been promoted to the top tier after four years, Mohammedan Sporting, egged on by 15,000-odd crowd, started aggressively and made inroads to the Pune FC half.
In the third minute, Ajay Singh missed a chance in front of the open net. They kept attacking which resulted in the first goal of the I-League seventh season when Joshimar struck after being set up nicely by Gagandeep Singh.
Joshimar first smartly headed the ball out of the path of a surging Pune FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, and then calmly slotted the ball into the empty net.
