Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City FC ISL semifinal second-leg clash played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Bengaluru FC beats Mumbai City FC 9-8 on penalties to qualify for the Indian Super League final. It will take on either ATK Mohun Bagan or defending champion Hyderabad FC.
Penalty shootout!!
The tie is level on aggregate (2-2) after extra-time and the match is heading to a penalty-shootout. It all boils down to this
Javi’s cross is met well by a Alan Costa header, but Phurba gets the slighest of touches again to send the ball out for a corner.
BFC sub: IN- Parag OUT- Roshan
Nice move from Bengaluru, which includes some crisp passing. Perez tries to conclude the attack with a first-time finish but his shot goes straight to Phurba.
Gurpreet cannot hold on to the ball after collecting it from a cross. For a moment, the goal is left exposed as MCFC players got the ball but the Islanders cannot capitalise as BFC finally clears the danger.
Stewart finds Diaz with a cross and the latter goes for goal with his head. Unmarked, Diaz had time and space to shoot, but his header is not on target.
Phurba almost paying for a mistake as he could not hold on to the ball after catching it from a cross. Perez was lurking there and would have had an emptry net to score a goal. However, the MCFC keeper recovers just in time to palm the ball away from danger.
The second period of extra-time kicks-off!!
The first period of extra-time comes to an end. There will 15 more minutes of football and if the scores are still level on aggregate, the match will go to penalties.
Save: Phurba has pulled off another massive save to keep his team in the tie. Krishan gets at the end of a pinpoint cross from the left flank. Krishna heads the ball, aiming for the far corner but Phurba shows his relfexes by getting a touch from close distance. There was danger of the ball going in from the rebound as Mourtada Fall hit his own post in a bid to clear but the Islanders finally clear the danger.
Chance- How was Mumbai not scored there? Vikram finds Diaz with a low cross inside the BFC box. Diaz, tries to tuck the ball to the far-corner with a first-time effort but sees the ball miss the target by inches.
Javi pounces on the loose ball as it was cleared by the MCFC defence. His low, piledriving shot is saved by Phurba.
BFC subs: IN- Alan Costa, Perez OUT- Jovanovic, Bruno
Stewart goes for goal from distance- he tries tio catch out Gurpreet with a low shot but the BFC keeper is alert enough to read it and collect the ball comfortably.
Vikram tries to find a teammate inside the box but misdirects his cross as the ball goes out of play.
MCFC sub: IN- Vinit OUT- Rowlin
The first period of extra time kicks-off!!
Mumbai City FC wins the match 2-1 and the second-leg will go to extra time after both teams are level 2-2 on aggregate.
Vikram whips a cross inside the box but Jhingan gets a crucial touch to send the ball out for a corner. Diaz was lurking at the back post to tuck the ball in.
Chhangte does well to hold on to the ball and lob it in the middle of the box. But there aren’t any Mumbai players to attack the ball.
Five minutes added at the end of the second-half.
Suresh catches Chhangte and it is a freekick for Mumbai. Regulation time is almost up and the match is going to extra-time as things stand.
Krishna does well win the ball, hold on to it and make a long run inside the MCFC box. He ultimately, goes for the shot butt sees his effort blaze over the bar.
Jahouh pings a wonderful cross from the right flank which almost finds Diaz at the near-post. But Diaz, who is marked well, cannot get a clear contact.
Phurba had come way off his line and looked to be under pressure for a moment as Chhetri was rushing towards him. However, the MCFC keeper kept his cool and got the ball away.
MCFC sub: IN- Vikram OUT- Bipin
It looks the end of the night for Bipin here after suffering an injury. The stretcher is out and Vikram Partap Singh is set to replace the winger.
Stewart tries to find Diaz with a pass from the freekick. The latter goes for a shot that is blocked. The ball is not cleared and falls to Borges. He goes for a shot from distance but is nowhere close to hitting the target.
Prabir Das catches Bipin in order to prevent the latter from sending a cross and Mumbai has a freekick in a dangerous position.
BFC sub: IN- Chhetri OUT- Sivasakthi
Save: Javi takes a wonderful shot on the turn after receiving the ball with his right foot. The ball was creeping towards the far corner but Phurba gets a crucial touch to send the ball out for a corner. It is a gigantic save, given the circumstances.
GOOOOOOALLLL!! MUMBAI CITY TAKES THE LEAD AND EQUALISES THE TIE!! MEHTAB SCORES!! Greg Stewart swings in a good ball from a MCFC corner and Mehtab Singh towered over everyone and rattled the net with a solid header.
Save: Bipin almost gets his second goal after connecting well with his header from a cross. But Gurpreet dives at full stretch to make the save.
Mumbai City trying to find that opening to split the BFC defence, but the Blues backline is very compact.
Javi does well to snatch the ball. He then, switches to his favourite left foot and goes for a shot which is blocked.
The Mumbai City defence is suddenly exposed from a BFC counter-attack. Siva dribbles past Jahouh and spreads the ball to Javi, who had time and space on the right. The Spaniard takes the shot but Phurba makes a crucial save by hanging on to the ball.
Roshan swings a dangerous cross inside the MCFC box from a corner but Jahouh is there to clear the ball with a solid header.
Chhangte sends a beautiful cross inside the box with the outside of his boot. Diaz was the intended target but the ball is cleared before it reaches him.
Sunil Chhetri is seen warming up. He will most likely make an appearance in this high voltage tie.
Stewart finds Bipin with a nice reverse pass. Bipin, who was in a good position inside the box, shoots at goal, but Gurpreet does well to make the save by catching the ball.
The second half kicks off with the scores level at 1-1. Bengaluru leads the tie with a 2-1 aggregate score. The second-half is wonderfully poised to be an absolute cracker.
Goals by BFC’s Javi and MCFC’s Bipin keep the scores level at 1-1. Bengaluru leads the tie with an aggregate score of 2-1.
Bipin makes a good run as he is played a good long ball. He controls the ball well and goes for a shot from a tight angle. He is not too far away from hitting the target.
Mumbai looking to have a strong finish to the half. Stewart gets the ball on the right flank and looks to send it to the middle with a whipped cross. But, BFC shows resolute defending as the cross is blocked.
Gurpreet tries to start an attack as he takes the freekick from inside his own-half. Howver, his ball is overcooked and goes out of play.
Six minutes added at the end of the first-half!!
Close- Javi Hernandez goes for goal from a BFC freekick and he comes incredibly close. His shot hits the roof of the net.
Bipin finds himself in a good position inside the BFC box and takes a shot. However, it is blocked.
It is end-to-end play as Javi has a chance to score his second after a BFC break. The Spaniard, under pressure, takes a shot, but Phurba saves it with a solid pair of hands.
Booking: Mourtada Fall is shown a yellow card after his mistimed challenge on Javi. It was a malicious challenge and Fall is lucky to escape a red.
Prabir Das does well to stay in the face og Greg Stgewart and force him to play the ball outside the touchline.
GOOOOALLLL!! MUMBAI CITY EQUALISES!! BIPIN SCORES!! Bengaluru could not deal with a cross that came from the right flank. Rowlin’s shot is saved by Gurpreet but the rebound falls to Bipin, who makes no mistake in slotting the ball inside the emoty net.
Roshan tries to swing a cross from the left flank but Rahul Bheke marks him well and makes a good block.
Krishna and Stewart tussle for the ball and the battle is won by the former. It is evident how charged up the BFC players are, backed by a vociferous home support.
The atmosphere inside the Kanteerava stadium is rocking. It is a huge goal as far as the tie is concerned. It all boils down to the next goal. If Mumbai equalises early, we will have a game on our hands. If BFC score, it would likely be over for the Islanders.
GOOOAAALLL!!! BENGALURU FC TAKES THE LEAD!! JAVI HAS FOUND THE NET!! It started with Sivasakthi getting the better of his marker with a wonderful shimmy. He then picks out Javi in the middle with a pinpoint cross and the Spaniard guides the ball inside the net with an accurate header.
The referee stops play as Suresh is down on the ground. He just seems a bit winded and should be okay to continue.
BFC cannot clear its lines and Stewart picks out Vignesh with a good pass. The latter takes a shot, aimed at the far corner but misses the target, as the ball goes out for a Bengaluru goalkick.
Mumbai City is attacking in numbers after the penalty save. BFC needs to absorb this spell of pressure here. Currently, the home team is under pressure and pegged back in its own half.
It seemed for a moment that Gurpreet would not be able to continue after he injured himself in the course of making the penalty save. However, he is okay to continue after getting some medical attention.
GURPREET SAVES STEWART’S PENALTY!! It was a weak effort from Greg Stewart and Gurpreet dives the right way to get a hand on the ball and make the save. Gurpreet atones for his mistake.
PENALTY TO MUMBAI CITY!! Gurpreet fouls Diaz from behind and the Islanders have a great opportunity to level the aggregate score.
Stewart makes a run down the left flank and squares the ball to the centre of the box, hoping to find a teammate. But, Roshan was there to mop up the danger.
Roshan has a look up and dispatches a venomous shot from miles out. He catches the shot really well but it was at a comfortable height for Phurba who catches the ball.
Javi goes for goal from an early Bengaluru freekick. It was a shot from an ambitious distance and the Spaniard sees his effort go high and wide.
Bengaluru FC has started on the frontfoot. Simon Grayson’s men are intent on not allowing the Mumbai City players to settle in early and relieving some pressure off their backline.
The ISL semifinal second-leg between Bengaluru FC and Mumbai City FC kicks-off at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
What did the coaches say?
Confirmed starting lineups!!
Head-to-head record
Bengaluru FC and Mumbai City have played each other 13 times in the Indian Super League. There is no separating these two as both teams have six wins each. One match has ended in a draw.
PREVIEW
A first Indian Super League final in four seasons beckons as Bengaluru FC – leading 1-0 from the first leg – takes on Mumbai City FC in the semifinal second leg at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday.
Simon Grayson’s side is high on confidence, having notched up its 10th successive win at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday.
It has a defined way of playing – to hit on the counter and exploit the space behind the opponent’s defence – a settled first XI and a trump card in Sunil Chhetri, who has come off the bench to produce match-winning efforts in the last two matches.
That BFC has beaten MCFC – the best team in the League by a distance and one that has scored 54 goals – in two of the three League encounters this campaign will not be lost on anyone.
Still, even as it has one foot in the summit clash, to drag the other along will not be easy. A smarting MCFC is nobody’s dream combatant and BFC will also be playing its third game in 10 days.
“I had said that we wanted to be in the tie going into the second leg, which is what we’ve managed to do. But we haven’t achieved anything yet,” Grayson said, on the eve of the tie. “Mumbai is a top team, so I expect a difficult game.”
Des Buckingham, MCFC coach, would want his forward line to be more clinical. For all the dominance of the ball in the first leg, the attacking trio of Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Greg Stewart couldn’t find the back of the net.
“It was a one-off game, and my team will give a reaction,” Buckingham said. “The good thing is, apart from the set-piece, we had control of the game and created chances. I expect a very similar game, and the plan does not really change.”
-N. Sudarshan
LIVE STREAMING INFO
When and where will the Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City ISL semifinal second leg match kick-off?
The Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City FC ISL match will kick off at 7:30 PM IST, March 12 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Where can you watch the Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City ISL match?
The Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City ISL match will be live telecasted on the Star Sports Network.
Where can you live stream theBengaluru FC vs Mumbai City ISL match?
The Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City ISL match will be live streamed on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.
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