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That's all for today. Thank you so much for joining me. Until next, it's goodbye. CIAO!
So, after this match, Bengaluru stays third with 29 points from 16 matches.
Chennaiyin stays fifth with 22 points from 15 matches.
Forwards of both sides were wasteful in the final third but nobody will be ruing the missed chances as much as Semboi today. Missing from right across the face of goal, a simple volley into the side-netting as Semboi's missed chances eventually hurt the visiting team.
Well, an ordinary evening ends in a distasteful manner for both teams as either sides fail to secure three points and propel their chances of securing a top-4 finish.
Tempers flare after the final whistle and the referee dishes out a Yellow Card to Sunil Chhetri. Chhetri will miss the next game with this suspension and he gets the yellow for appraoching the referee in a disrespectful manner. He sees a yellow without even playing a single minute.
90+6' REFEREE BLOWS THE LONG WHISTLE AND BRINGS THE CURTAINS DOWN ON AN ORDINARY GAME OF FOOTBALL!
90+2' Laldinliana gives a shove to the back of the BFC player, while trying to win an aerial battle and concedes the free-kick at a very dangerous position. Borges whips the ball from the spot way over the goal.
Five minutes have been added to the second half.
89' SUBSTITUTION FOR CHENNAI- DEEPAK TANGRI- IN| CRIVELLARO- OUT
87' SECOND YELLOW FOR THOI SINGH AND HE IS SENT OFF! Reckless challenge once again, this time on Borges. Silly, really.
85' SUBSTITUTION FOR BENGALURU- KEAN-IN | SURESH- OUT
Wow, what a passage of play that way! Five entertaining minutes! How has Semboi not scored yet?
81' PAST THE KEEPER BUT STILL FINDS THE POST, DOES SEMBOI! 2nd costly miss by Semboi and he must be absolutely gutted. Chhetri on the sidelines cannot believe it! Down the centre, Semboi is freed with acres of space. He is one on one with Keith, who charges forward. Semboi beats the keeper with his shot but finds the right upright.
79' Schembri, right across the face of goal, is layed up. He turns and takes a shot at goal. Gurpreet is off his line quickly and sets the Schembri off as the striker's shot deflects off Sandhu's right palm and then Rahul Bheke makes the clearance off the goal line.
78' SIDE NETTING BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SLOTTED IN! At the end of a long throw-in, the ball bounces at a comfortable height to Semboi at the far post. He has a tight angle to score from but at this level, one is expected to. Semboi finds the side netting with his volley.
Last 15 minutes plus added time to go! Chennai has conceded seven goals after the 75th minute. Can BFC make it eight or even more?
75' YELLOW CARD FOR BORGES AS HE KICKS THOI SINGH recklessly after losing the ball.
74' GREAT BLOCK BY SERRAN AS CFC HAS ANOTHER CORNER! Jerry zips down the left flank and plays the pull back to Valskis just inside the box. The Chennaiyin striker turns to his left and takes a crack at goal but the ball is deflected away for a corner by the right foot of Serran.
73' YELLOW CARD FOR THOI SINGH for bringing down Erik Paartalu with a rough push.
71' GURPREET TO THE RESCUE AGAIN! Crivellaro, on the right flank, whips the ball to the far post, looking for Schembri. But there's a little too much weight on the delivery and Sandhu does well to jump over his defenders and complete the catch.
70' HERE'S VALSKIS and a goal kick to BFC! The ball clips off the back off his own player, Schembri and flies wide.
68' FREE-KICK IN A DANGEROUS POSITION FOR CFC! Just 22 yards out. Serran is show the yellow card for his reckless sliding tackle on Crivellaro just outside the box and is also penalised for committing a handball right after.
67' SUBSTITUTION FOR BENGALURU- Semboi- IN | Udanta Singh- OUT
64' CHANCE! Borges with a quick back heel at the edge of the box and slips the ball to Udanta, but the Indian international loses his footing and fails to even have a shot.
63' SLOPPY FROM KEITH AND THAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE OPENING GOAL! Keith spots the loose ball played to the edge of the box on the right and comes off his line. Francisco Borges and Goian attack the ball and Goian gets the first and puts in a sliding tackle but the clearance is weak and the ball is still inside the box. Borges goes around the keeper but Eli Sabia of CFC kicks it away.
61' SUBSTITUTION FOR CHENNAI! Andre Schembri- IN | Masih Saighani- OUT. Owen Coyle subs off a defender for an extra striker in a bid to bolster the attack.
60' FOUL but no free-kick! Rahul Bheke and Udanta Singh with a little 1-2 on the right flank and the play comes to a halt as Jerry brings down Udanta with a kick to his calf.
57' DIMAS WITH A SILLY CHALLENGE ON CRIVELLARO! Charges in from the back and kicks the shin of Crivellaro to bring him down and concede the free-kick. A dangerous ball is delivered towards goal but Sandhu is quick off the line as he parries the ball away.
55' SURESH WITH A BRILLIANT CHALLENGE ON CHHANGTE TO DENY CHENNAI THE OPENER! Chhangte is released on the left flank and the mid-fielder blasts forward. Suresh does well to keep up, stick his leg out inside the box and dispossess Chhangte. Serran also come in to clear with a slide and almost concedes a penalty off a handball. That was close!
52' YELLOW CARD FOR JUANAN and he will be missing the next match.
52' SUBSTITUTION FOR BENGALURU- Francisco Borges- IN | Deshorne Brown- OUT
50' GOOD SAVE FROM GURPREET! Valskis drills the ball to the bottom left corner of goal but the tall BFC 'keeper Gurpreet times his dive to perfection to make the first real save of the night. It all started with Thoi Singh zipping down the right flank and BFC defenders having to hurry for the clearing header. The ball falls to Crivellaro at the edge of the box on the left, who lays it up to an incoming Valskis down the centre.
48' First corner of the half goes Chennaiyin's way but nothing fruitful emerges from the move.
47' Jerry whips the ball from the left flank and fails to curl it away from BFC 'keeper Gurpreet, who makes a regulation save to end the move.
46' Chennaiyin FC gets the second half underway.
The players are back out. A win today for Chennai will propel its chances of finishing in the Top 4. A win for Bengaluru will seal its semifinal berth. Who will end the night on victorious or will the stalemate continue? Let's find out!
Stats from the first half:
Shots- CFC- 2| BFC-3
Shots on Target- CFC-1 | BFC-1
Possession- CFC- 52% | BFC- 48%
It's been a cagey affair so far, rather ordinary from both sides in the final third and the strikers haven't been allowed any opening whatsoever. A few shots were blasted over the crossbar and both goalkeepers have made a couple of regulation saves. A draw is not going to help any team at this stage of the competition.
Referee blows the short whistle and brings an ordinary first half to an end.
45+2' LATE CORNER FOR CFC! Can the team break the deadlock? Chhangte is dispossessed by Serran near the byline inside the box but the BFC defender cannot avoid conceding a corner. However, CFC makes nothing off it.
Only one minute has been added to the first half.
44' GURPREET SAVES! Slow, loopy cross into the box from the left flank by Chhangte. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu comes off his line and pouches the ball with ease. To beat Gurpreet, the ball's got to be flatter and quicker.
43' ROUGH TACKLE! Edwin chases Dimas for the ball and brings him down with a boot to Dimas' shin.
39' On the other end, at the end of a BFC counter-attack, Eli Sabia gets the better of Ashique in the right wing as he wins a goal kick for his team with a great challenge that forces Ashqiue to take the ball out of bounds.
38' FOUL and free-kick for CFC! Near the byline in the right flank, Thoi Singh is stopped in his track by Ashique and Nishu Kumar. Referee deems it to be foul play and award the free-kick. Edwin Vanspual plays it flat into the box , but the ball is cleared away.
31' BLAZED OVER BY CHHANGTE! Crivellaro, in the left flank, turns swiftly to get past his marker Serran. He takes two steps forward before slipping the ball to Chhangte. The mid-fielder charges towards goal and has his eyes set on goal. Which is why he doesn't see Thoi Singh, who was in acres of space on the far post. Chhangte rifles the ball on goal only to see it fly over.
29' Good defending from Suresh! A lob pass to the left flank from the back frees up Chhangte, who zips down the flank and just when he cuts in, he is dispossessed by Suresh.
25' ASHIQUE WITH A SHOT ON GOAL BUT KEITH SAVES! From inside the box down in the left, Ashique decides to have a shot on goal himself and hits it straight to CFC 'keeper Keith, who makes a meal of the save as he fails to holds on to the ball. However, the ball is cleared away right after.
24' Saighani escapes the yellow! Right in the centre, he pulls back Dimas to concede a free-kick.
Bengaluru has won three of the last five matches against Chennaiyin, but only one at the Marina Arena.
19' FUMBLE FROM KEITH AND THAT ALMOST WENT IN! Saighani's clearing header goes the wrong way and should have been a regulation catch for CFC ' keeper Keith. But he fumbles it and concedes the corner. Thankfully for the home team, the ball didn't roll back into the net.
19' GOIAN WITH A GREAT CLEARANCE! Ashique beats Eli Sabia in a race down the left flank to square the ball into the box. But Romanian Goian intercepts the pass with a diving clearance.
17' JUST WIDE! That came out of nowhere, that shot from Brown! Throw-in for Bengaluru a loose ball is played into an empty space. Crivellaro gets to the ball first and looks to advance upfront with the turn. But Brown sticks his leg out and steals the ball from him. Takes a few touches and then has a crack at goal. But the ball drifts wide of the left post.
14' Laldinliana Renthlei gets into a tussle with Ashique Kuruniyan for the ball in the left flank and the latter is brought down but the referee awards the free-kick to Chennaiyin.
12' Good goalkeeping from Vishal Keith. A loose ball from the back and Udanta Singh of Bengaluru was in business for a moment. He heads the loopy ball towards Deshorn Brown but CFC defender Masih Saighani does well to slow Brown down at the edge of the box. This allows Keith to charge forward and clear the ball.
10' Great sliding tackle from Thoi Singh on Nishu Kumar to steal the ball from the Bengaluru defender. The balls rolls to Crivellaro, who cuts into the box from the left and tries to look fro an incoming Valskis. But there are three BFC defenders who take care of the attempted pass and fend off the danger.
8' Juanan fouls Valskis, pushing him down to the ground with a strong shoulder push.
7' Free-kick for BFC! Dimas is brought down with a rough tackle in the left and the Crivellaro was not happy with the free-kick being awarded. Lucky to escape an early booking there for an aggressive argument with the referee.
Six goal, six assists in the last eight games for the Brazilian Crivellaro.
4' A calm start so far from both sides. Suresh Wangjam with a challenge from the back on Crivellaro and the latter is brought down but the referee says play on. Good challenge from Suresh, who foiled Crivellaro's run to the final third from the left.
1' Bengaluru gets us underway for the first half.
The players are out on the field. The stage is set. Let's get going!
LIVE UPDATES:
Our reporter Anirudh Velamuri updates from the ground: No news yet on why Chhetri isn't starting tonight. To start with Brown instead seems more like a tactical change.
So far in the season, Chennaiyin has scored 16 goals and conceded 10 in the eight matches it has played at the 'Marina Arena'. CFC has not managed to score only twice at home, against Mumbai and ATK at the beginning of the season.
This is Chennaiyin's 50th match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai.
The talismanic striker, Chhetri, has scored five goals against Chennaiyin FC.
Team news:
BFC: Sunil Chhetri starts on the bench as Dimas Delgado has been named the captain tonight.
CFC: Thoi Singh starts for Chennaiyin, while Andre Schembri has been named a substitute.
It's the Southern Derby time!!
Chennaiyin and Bengaluru will lock horns for the 7th time in ISL on Sunday. As of now, the head-to-head honours are shared equally as both teams have won three games each. BFC has conceded eight goals while Chennaiyin has let in 11 goals so far.
Did you know? Courtesy ISL.
- No team has scored more goals than Chennaiyin’s tally of 15 (in five matches) in 2020.
- Bengaluru has lost its last two away matches.
- 12 of the 19 goals Bengaluru has scored this season have been from set pieces.
STAT ATTACK
Most goals:
(CFC) Nerijus Valskis is currently the second-highest scorer with 12 goals.
(BFC) Sunil Chhetri is sixth in the list with nine goals.
Most clean sheets:
(BFC) Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is first in the list- nine
(CFC) Vishal Kaith is eighth in the list- two
Most assists:
(CFC) Rafael Crivellaro is second in the list- six
(BFC) Eric Paartalu and Dimas Delgado fourth and fifth, respectively- five each
Standings in the points table:
With eight wins, four draws and three losses, Bengaluru currently sits third in the table with 28 points after 15 games.
Chennaiyin, on the other hand, is currently fifth with 21 points from 14 games, including six wins, three draws and five losses .
Full points table:
Points table, goals scored, goals difference
WATCH: From their first meeting back in grade 7, to I-League and Indian Super League titles, to Vadivelu jokes - Chennaiyin FC's Dhanpal Ganesh and Edwin Sydney Vanspaul talk about all things fun with Sportstar in this #OffThePitch episode.
MATCH PREVIEW by our reporter Anirudh Velamuri
Chennaiyin FC hosts Bengaluru FC in its last home game of this Indian Super League campaign with its playoff chances revived under Owen Coyle.
The Irishman has made a remarkable impact since replacing John Gregory. Taking over a club that had won just five points and was rock bottom, he has helped Chennaiyin pick up 16 points from a possible 24 to go fifth in the table, five points behind Mumbai City FC with two games in hand.
While Chennaiyin still concedes goals at the same rate (1.67 per game under Gregory and 1.63 per game under Coyle), what has changed is its fortunes at the other end. After scoring just four goals from six games (0.24 goals per game) under Gregory this season, CFC has since scored 22 goals in eight games (2.75 goals per game).
These statistics aren’t lost on Bengaluru coach Carles Cuadrat. Speaking ahead of the game, he said, “Chennaiyin are in a positive mood as they are fighting for the top four too.
“It’s clear that with the new coach, they have another kind of spirit in their game. He has been getting them to believe more in the creative process. They have become a team who score a lot of goals.”
Scoring first will be crucial for Chennaiyin. It hasn’t lost a match where it has taken the lead this season, winning six games and drawing three. Bengaluru FC, on the other hand, has lost all three game where the opposition had scored the opening goal.
“A lot of things are important in these kind of games. For example, who is the first team to score the goal? The three games that we have lost, it has been because when the other team scored first, they were comfortable. We will try to score first but we know it is not going to be easy.”
Coyle is expecting an exciting, tight game against the defending champion on Sunday. “We are respectful of the champions but do not fear them,” he said.
“They are a strong, physical team that defends well. We are aware of the threats they possess. To win the game, we have to play very well offensively but we do know that we have to do better defensively too.”
Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, who has been playing in the midfield since the game against NorthEast United, could find a new partner in the middle of the park as Anirudh Thapa is suspended and Germanpreet Singh is carrying an injury.
Bengaluru, fresh from its win against Paro FC in the first leg of its AFC Cup Preliminary Stage 2 clash, will be without Raphael Augusto, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Rino Anto, who continue their return from injury, while Harmanjot Khabra serves a suspension.
MATCH BROADCAST DETAILS
The match will be shown on the Star Sports network and the live streaming can be followed on Hotstar. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM IST.
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