This is Sportstar's ISL 2020-21 highlights of the match between Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC on Sunday.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
KBFC took the lead through Rahul K. P. early on in the match. But a huge mistake from Lalruatthara gifted BFC striker Cleiton Silva the equaliser. Kristian Opseth and Dimas Delgado made it 3-1 for Bengaluru in the second-half before Jordan Murray pulled one back for Kerala. However, Chhetri scored a fourth to seal three points.
MATCH REPORT | Bengaluru slams four past Blasters in season's highest-scoring game
The 'Winning Pass of the Match' award goes to Bengaluru FC player Harmanjot Khabra for his assist to his skipper Sunil Chhetri, while one of his other teammates and goal-scorer, Dimas Delgado, takes home the 'Hero of the Match' honour for tonight's game against Kerala Blasters FC.
KBFC coach Kibu Vicuna: We are frustrated because of the result. We conceded too many goals. In the last two games, we've conceded seven. It's not possible to continue like this. It's very difficult to score goals against Bengaluru but we got two. But the easy goals we concede ruin our chances. The first and third goals, even the penalty shouldn't have been given away. Bengaluru is the best team during set-pieces and we prepared for that. If we talk about positives, we defended well during our first goal, went on the counter and scored a good goal.
BFC coach Carles Cuadrat: I think this was a nice game to watch. Last time we had lots of attacking chances, I think 21 in the final third. And this game the players were ready. I'm so happy with the performance of the guys. It was a difficult match, a derby with lots of passion and emotion. We conceded an early goal due to our mistake in a set-piece, which is our weapon. We missed a penalty too. To comeback from that, we needed to be strong mentally. We showed that and worked as a unit. It's a very important three points.
Post match quotes from both the camps coming up...
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND IT'S FULL-TIME!!!
90+3' Four minutes of stoppage time was added on at the end of the first half! Bengaluru FC players have started using their time-wasting strategies here. Kerala Blasters FC players look absolutely desperate now.
90' BOOKING! BFC's Harmanjot Khabra receives a yellow card for committing a foul during a KBFC attack. SUBSTITUTION! Wungngayam Muirang replaces Ashique Kuruniyan in the middle for Bengaluru.
88' FREE-KICK FOR BENGALURU! Dimas Delgado will take the set-piece. He whips in a cross to the far post where Francisco Gonzalez makes contact. But his header flies way over the crossbar.
86' OFFSIDE! Once again, the linesman raises his flag during a Kerala Blasters attack. Gary Hooper was a little too eager to receive a Vicente Gomez pass this time around.
84' CORNER FOR KBFC! Vicente Gomez crosses the ball into the box towards Gary Hooper. But BFC centre-back Juanan gets to the ball first and clears it away. However, Kerala wastes the set-piece opportunity.
82' KERALA BLASTERS CHANCE! Gary Hooper sent in a cross into the box. Jordan Murray was quick enough to react to it. But his header goes wide. However, the goal wouldn't have counted because it's an offside.
80' SUBSTITUTION! Two more substitutions made by Kerala manager Kibu Vicuna here. Seityasen Singh and Sandeep Singh come into the field, replacing Lalruatthara and Facundo Pereyra. Can the fresh legs bring about a change in fortune?
78' YELLOW CARD! Kerala Blasters FC's Nishu Kumar, a former Bengaluru FC player, goes into the referee's book for a terrible tackle on an opposition player. It's now or never for KBFC.
76' And it's time for the final cooling break of the match!
73' TWO CHANGES FOR KERALA NOW! Head coach Kibu Vicuna replaces Rohit Kumar and Prasanth Karuthadathkuni with Jessel Carneiro and Jeakson Singh in the middle.
69' DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION FOR BENGALURU! Manager Carles Cuadrat brings on Udanta Singh and Francisco Gonzalez for Kristian Opseth and Suresh Wangjam, respectively.
65' GGGGOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!! SUNIL CHHETRI SCORES!!! BENGALURU 4 - 2 KERALA BLASTERS! Harmanjot Khabra with a brilliant move on the right flank. He finds his captain with an inch-perfect cross. Chhetri jumps higher than KBFC's Prasanth Karuthadathkuni and heads the ball towards the far post to restore his side's two-goal lead.
61' GOAAAALLLL!!! JORDAN MURRAY SCORES!!!! BENGALURU 3 - 2 KERALA BLASTERS!! KBFC has pulled one back now. Facundo Pereyra took a free-kick for KBFC. He sent in a cross into the box. Vicente Gomez connects with a header and Murray gets the all important final touch as the ball beats BFC keeper Gurpreet Singh and finds the back of the net.
57' YELLOW CARD! Kerala Blasters FC's Lalruatthara is the man who gets the booking. He pushes Bengaluru FC's Kristian Opseth from behind and is penalised by the referee.
53' GGOOOAAAALLL!!! DIMAS DELGADO SCORES!! BENGALURU 3 - 1 KERALA BLASTERS!!!! Another mistake from Lalruatthara here. Cleiton Silva dispossesses him. Silva passes it to Kristian Opseth who sets up Dimas Delgado at close range. The BFC midfielder fires one past Albino Gomes.
51' GOAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!! KRISTIAN OPSETH SCORES!!! BENGALURU 2 - 1 KERALA BLASTERS! Ashique Kuruniyan is played in on the left flank by Cleiton Silva. He drills in a low cross and Kristian Opseth who is unmarked slots the ball home to bag the lead for his side.
48' PENALTY MISSED!!! Skipper Sunil Chhetri misses the spot-kick for BFC. It was a poor one. He tried to go for the panenka but KBFC goalkeeper Albino Gomes stood his ground and made an absolutely easy save.
47' SPOT-KICK!! Bengaluru FC wins a penalty very early into the second half against Kerala Blasters FC. Bakary Kone brings down Kristian Opseth inside the box.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Both the goals tonight have come from mistakes. Kerala Blasters FC's error looked even worse. Lalruatthara's lack of concentration presented Bengaluru FC's Cleiton Silva a glorious opportunity to equalise.
Rahul K. P. gave KBFC the lead during an amazing counter-attack. However, the side had lost 16 points from winning positions last season. It's going to be an interesting final 45 minutes here. Stay tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME!!!
45' Two minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first-half! Ashique Kuruniyan executes a mistimed tackle on Jordan Murray. BOOKING! The referee shows the Bengaluru man a yellow card.
43' GOOD TACKLE! Sunil Chhetri passes the ball to his BFC teammate Kristian Opseth, who tries to move into the box. However, Lalruatthara puts in a last-ditch tackle to avert the danger for KBFC.
41' CROSS! Ashique Kuruniyan sends in a low cross into the box towards Kristian Opseth. But Kerala keeper Albino Gomes gets to the ball before the Bengaluru forward and makes the clearance.
38' YELLOW CARD! Juanan is the first player to be booked in the game. The Bengaluru centre-back pushes Gary Hooper down during a Kerala counter-attack.
35' CHANCE! Harmanjot Khabra wins back possession for Bengaluru. He sends the ball forward to Cleiton Silva, who puts in a cross into the box. Suresh Wangjam gets to the ball and hits it over the crossbar.
32' Bengaluru FC has dominated the game so far when it comes to possession and passing stats. Kerala Blasters have done better in the final third though.
29' GOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! CLEITON SILVA SCORES THE EQUALISER!!! BENGALURU 1 - 1 KERALA BLASTERS! It was a goal-kick from Gurpreet Singh. Nishu Kumar jumps high and heads the ball towards his own goal. Lalruatthara looks to clear it but makes a total mess of it. Cleiton Silva gets to the ball and finds the back of the net.
26' And it's time for the drinks break now!
23' OFFSIDE! Lalruatthara gets the ball in midfield for Kerala Blasters. He looks the find Jordan Murray near the box. But once again Murray was in an offside position.
20' FREE-KICK FOR BFC! Jordan Murray takes out Harmanjot Khabra from behind. However, Bengaluru doesn't utilise the set-piece. Kerala regains possession.
17' GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! RAHUL K. P. SCORES!!! KERALA BLASTERS 1 - 0 BENGALURU! This was a wonderful counter-attack. BFC lost the ball at the other end. Gary Hooper intercepted a Bengaluru free-kick and rushed forward with the ball. He has teammates on either side. The Kerala forward waits for the right time and releases Rahul on the right flank. Rahul makes no mistake as he beats Gurpreet from a decent angle.
15' CLOSE! Pereyra sends a through-ball towards Jordan Murray, who takes a touch and has a shot on target. GOOD SAVE! Gurpreet Singh dives to his left and pushes the ball away.
12' OFFSIDE! The Kerala Blasters duo of Gary Hooper and Facundo Pereyra are suddenly two against three during their move forward. But Pereyra was a little too eager to get to Hooper's pass as the linesman raises his flag.
10' CHANCE! A brilliant run from Rahul K. P. on the right flank. He uses all his pace to get close to the box. However, BFC winger Ashique Kuruniyan makes an equally impressive run to track back and block the attempted cross.
7' SHOT! Kristian Opseth receives the ball just outside the box. He evades an opposition player and lets one fly with his left foot. But the ball goes way off target.
5' FREE-KICK FOR KBFC! Facundo Pereyra is on set-piece duty tonight. The box is absolutely crowded. His cross is a good one but none of his Kerala teammates are able to make contact with the ball. In the end, Gurpreet Singh collects the ball.
2' THROW-IN FOR BFC! Harmanjot Khabra will take it. He goes for a long throw into the box. Erik Paartalu gets to the ball but he's unable to control it as the Kerala defence clears it away.
7:30 PM: AND THE MATCH IS UNDERWAY!
7:25 PM: The players are out! Nishu Kumar will face his former team Bengaluru FC for the first time since moving to Kerala Blasters FC.
7:20 PM: Which team will come out on top in match 27 of the season?
7:10 PM: Can Kerala Blasters FC win its first game of the season tonight?
6:55 PM: Can Bengaluru FC maintain its unbeaten run in the 2020-21 ISL?
6:40 PM: The team lineups are out!
BFC XI: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Pratik Chaudhari, Juanan, Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Khabra, Dimas Delgado, Cleiton Silva, Suresh Wangjam, Kristian Opseth, Sunil Chhetri, Ashique Kuruniyan.
KBFC XI: Albino Gomes (GK), Bakary Kone, Nishu Kumar, Lalruatthara, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Jeakson Singh, Rahul KP, Vicente Gomez, Jordan Murray, Facundo Pereyra, Gary Hooper.
6:20 PM: Bengaluru and Kerala have squared off six times in the ISL and BFC has dominated the fixture by winning it four times, as opposed to KBFC’s one victory. The Blasters are featuring in the league for the seventh time, while the Blues are playing their fourth. Here are important stats, head-to-head record and players to watch out for from the fixture. ( READ MORE )
6:00 PM: Former champion Bengaluru comes into the tie on the back of a 2-2 draw against NorthEast United, while Kerala Blasters lost 3-1 to FC Goa. KBFC has drawn two and lost just as many matches, accumulating two points from four games so far. BFC, on the other hand, has six points from four games and is fifth on the ISL points table. Here's how the teams could line up today. ( PREDICTED XIs )
5:40 PM: Shyam Vasudevan and Aashin Prasad review the ups and downs of matchweek 3 of the Indian Super League on The Full Time Show .
Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 here. Click here
The Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) will mark the return of major league competition in India after the nationwide lockdown to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak was first imposed in March.
The seventh edition of the ISL got underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa on November 20.
The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a league and playoff format across three venues. Following the inclusion of SC East Bengal, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Life near the bottom of the table can be very tough and worrying. Kerala Blasters FC, in the ninth rung in the 11-team ladder, will be desperate to change things when it takes on former champion Bengaluru FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Fatorda Stadium on Sunday.
Kibu Vicuna, Blasters head coach, was clear that the team will have to improve in all departments in the match which will be the fifth for both the southern teams.
“We are trying to improve all the aspects of the game. We have to improve defensively, we have to improve offensively, especially in the last third. We are working and hoping that in the next game everything is going to be better,” said the Spaniard.
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After midfielder Sergio Cidoncha returned home to Spain the other day to recover from an injury, the Blasters suffered another setback as it will be without defender Costa Nhamoinesu after defender recieved a red card in the last game, a 1-3 loss against FC Goa.
Vicuna is aware that Bengaluru will be a tough challenge.
“I think they have a very good team, very good Indian players, most of them internationals and very good foreigners. They are working well, improving day by day. They changed their formation in the last two games. It is going to be a big challenge for us but we are improving, we are in the process to be a good team,” said the Spaniard.
Bengaluru – with just one win from four games – will be desperate too, especially after conceding a last-minute goal which allowed NorthEast United FC to escape with a 2-2 draw.
“We are working to get the points and I think we came very close to have more points. Now, we have six but it could have been eight or 10. We will be trying to improve,” said BFC head coach Carles Cuadrat.
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