ISL 2020-21 highlights, MCFC vs BFC: Chhetri, Cleiton double strikes give Bengaluru win
ISL Live, BFC vs MCFC Live Football Streaming: Get the Indian Super League live score updates between Bengaluru FC and Mumbai City FC from GMC Stadium Bambolim.
Published : Feb 15, 2021 17:29 IST
This is Sportstar's ISL 2020-21 match blog of the encounter between Mumbai City FC and Bengaluru FC which will be played at the GMC Stadium on Monday.
That's all we have for the night. We will be back again tomorrow when Hyderabad FC takes on Kerala Blasters FC [ PREVIEW ]. Until then, you can follow our entire ISL 2020-21 coverage here . Good night!
Podcast - The latest episode of 'The Full Time Show' features the Robbie Fowler interview with our reporters Shyam Vasudevan and Amitabha Das Sharma. We also take a deep dive into his controversy-courting maiden ISL coaching sojourn and his season with SC East Bengal. |
Mumbai City FC manager Sergio Lobera: I am not happy. The result is not what we wish. We conceded 4 goals, we had a lot of chances to score.It is very important to score the first goal. They are a strong team with very good players. No this is not the most difficult period for me. It depends on how it goes in the last game to go top of the table. Remaining three games is in our hands. We need to analyse a lot of things and put the focus on the next two games. We need to be loyal. We are strong in our style of play, in our philosphy.
Stay tuned for the post-match reactions.
It is Bengaluru's first win over Mumbai since January 2018. It moves them up to sixth place with 22 points in 18 matches. Mumbai stays second with 34 points in 17 matches.
What a pulsating contest that was from the first minute to the last. Cleiton Silva, making a comeback to the starting XI, gave Bengaluru the perfect start with a goal inside the first minute. He doubled the lead at the 22nd minute, heading the ball in from a free kick delivery by Xisco Hernandez.
Mumbai halved the lead at the start of the second half courtesy Adam Le Fondre. But captain Sunil Chhetri made it 3-1 for Bengaluru, with a lovely ball in from Gurpreet.
However, CY Goddard, who had such a superb game put in his second assist for the night for Le Fondre, who headed the ball to make it 3-2.
In the dying minutes of the game, BFC received a chance to counter attack on the opposite half and Chhetri sprinted all the way, on his own and fired in a shot with his left foot into the back of the net that sealed the game for the former champions.
Mumbai City FC 2- Bengaluru FC 4
The referee blows the final whistle and Bengaluru takes home an absolutely crucial and much-deserved three points.
90+3 GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Bengaluru counter attacks and Chhetri, in his 200th game, sprints all the way on his own and fires in the winner with his left foot. That almost most certainly seals the game for Bengaluru.
Bengaluru managing to keep possession in the final few minutes of this game.
A whopping 6 minutes of stoppage time added.
88' Jackichand puts in a ball from the right wing to Le Fondre, who is unable to get something substantial out of it. Srivas clears it away.
Less than five minutes of play left in this game.
85' Goddard has given the assists tonight and he had the chance to score the equaliser, but the ball went wide. What a phase of play for Mumbai.
84' WHAT A CHANCE FOR MUMBAI. Goddard once again puts in a lovely pass for Le Fondre, whose shot is stopped by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu with a fingertip save.
Edmund is booked immediately for a challenge.
82' CHANGE FOR BENGALURU: Cleiton Silva, who has had such an excellent game, is coming off for cramps and on comes Edmund Lalrindka for him.
77' Kuruniyan commits a foul on Ranawade, who is down and on his comeback game, he is booked for it.
Time for a drinks break!
72' GOALLLLLLLLLL. Le Fondre scores his second goal of the night with a lovely ball in from Goddard. Bengaluru goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu came outside, but the header went above him and that made it 3-2.
A fourth change for MUMBAI . Vignesh Dakshinmurthy is replaced by Mandar Rao Dessai in the full back position.
69' Corner for Mumbai and Fall heads it straight into Gurpreet's hands.
68' Mumbai is in desperate need to get back into this game and Le Fondre takes a shot from outside the box but the ball flies away into orbit.
65' FREE KICK for Bengaluru. Cleiton takes it, it is fine effort from him and an even better effort from Amrinder, who pips it over the bar.
Also a double change for MUMBAI. Ogbeche comes on for Bipin and Mehtab Singh comes on for Santana.
62' CHANGE FOR BENGALURU: Kuruniyan, wearing a protective mask, comes on for Xisco Hernandez.
Looks like the comeback man Ashique Kuruniyan will get game time tonight.
59' Mumbai players are in an argument with the referee for a handball on Srivas, but the referee is not convinced.
56' GOALLLLLLLLLL. Chhetri scores in his 200th game. What a terrific ball in from Gurpeet, straight at Chhetri, who controlled it and put it at the back of the net.
51' Chhetri with the ball and he has now been booked for a dive.
49' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Le Fondre halves the lead. Lovely ball in from Goddard for the forward and he puts it at the back of the net.
A number of Mumbai City players are getting ready on the touchline.
48' FREE KICK for Mumbai. Jahouh takes it, but it proves inconsequntial.
Time for the second half
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What a 45 minutes of football for Bengaluru. It was on the front foot from the word-go and within a minute of the start of proceedings, Cleiton Silva gave BFC the lead with an assist from Udanta.
Mumbai looked to wrest control, but it was Bengaluru, which went 2-0 up courtesy Silva again, who headed in a Xisco Hernadez free-kick.
Mumbai had two good chances to open the scoring, one through Le Fondre and another through Bipin but both were not converted.
Sergio Lobera made the first change post the drinks break, bringing in Jackichand Singh for Rowllin Borges. However, chances continue to elude them post his introduction.
45'+5' Bengaluru start a counter-attack. Cleiton passes the ball to Chhetri, who is unmarked but in an off-side position and the flag is up.
45+4' Xisco goes for goal, but ball smashes the side netting.
45+2' Parag is challenged by Bipin, who is booked for it and it is a free kick for Bengaluru in the dying minutes of this half.
4 minutes of added time.
44' Ranawade looks to cross the ball from the wing, but it smashes into the ear of Ajith Kumar.
42' FREE KICK for MUMBAI. Jahouh takes it, but the ball smashes into the wall and Erik Paartalu seems to have beared the brunt of ensuring the ball did not towards Gurpreet.
41' Bipin sprints his way past the Bengaluru players, but is challenged by Khabra, who receives a yellow card for it.
Just under five minutes of regulation time to go in this half.
39 ' Vignesh puts in a challenge on Chhetri, but he is back on his feet.
Mumbai have certainly looked the more assured side since the start of drinks break.
36' CHANCE. Free kick for Mumbai lands in the head of Fall, who shoots in the ball from low range but it is excellently saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
CHANGE FOR MUMBAI : Rowllin Borges is coming off and Jackichand Singh is taking his place.
Play resumes and it will be interesting to see how Mumbai look to halve this lead in this first 45 minutes of play.
Time for drinks!
28' Gonzalez is booked for a challenge on Goddard and it gives Mumbai a free kick.
Mumbai have all the work to do in the remaining minutes of this half. Bengaluru have planned well to counter whatever the opposition has brought to the table today.
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. It is Cleiton Silva again. He heads the ball in from the set piece, delivered in by Xisco and Bengaluru are in complete command here.
21' Bipin fouls Udanta on the edge of the wing and BFC have a free kick.
20' CHANCE. Paartalu takes a shot, but it is superbly stopped by Amrinder.
19' CHANCE. What a ball to Le Fondre, who does not make the most of it. One presumes he could have done better with that.
16' Bipin looks to create something but a crowd of Bengaluru players are there to prevent the ball from skipping through.
14' Mumbai lose ball possession and ball goes to Chhetri's feet, who takes a shot. Meanwhile, Parag Srivas has been handed a yellow card for his challenge on Adam Le Fondre.
A slightly slow phase in this game as both teams look to keep ball possession and create something out of it.
9' Mumbai with more possession at this stage, but unable to make any chances with that.
6' CHANCE FOR MUMBAI. Raynier Fernandes sprints down the middle, but hits the side netting.
2' CORNER FOR Bengaluru. Silva fires the ball in, Paartalu jumped to go for it but nothing of note comes out of it.
Wow, what a great start to the game. Just what the former champions needed.
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. What a start for Bengaluru. Udanta sprints in from down the wing, gets the ball in, passes it to Cleiton who puts it behind the net
1' We are off at the GMC stadium in Bambolim with Bengaluru kicking off proceedings.
7:25pm: The players are walking out to the middle. Mumbai is in their blue kit while Bengaluru is in their white kit.
Kuruniyan missed out on as many as 11 matches, but is on the bench tonight. Here are more details about the injury which kept him out of action.
Bengaluru FC's Ashique Kuruniyan fractures his face
7:15pm: This is a crucial, crucial game for Bengaluru from the playoffs point of view. Anything less than three points could spell curtains for them in that race. Mumbai, on the other hand, will want to claim all three points and go back to the top of the points table.
7pm: Three changes for Bengaluru from the team that lost to ATK Mohun Bagan last Tuesday. Parag Srivas comes in for the injured Rahul Bheke, Cleiton Silva is fit and he returns to the XI. Kristian Opseth misses out and Xisco Hernandez gets a start in attack.
The other big news is that winger Ashique Kuruniyan, who got injured and sustained multiple fractures to his face in the game against Odisha FC in December, has recovered and finds a place among the substitutes.
It is a big night for Bengaluru captain Sunil Chhetri as well, who is making his 200th appearance for the club tonight.
6:45pm: Two changes for Mumbai City FC from the team drew against FC Goa. Vignesh Dakshinamurthy comes in for Mandar Rao Dessai and CY Goddard comes in for the suspended Hugo Boumous.
6:30pm: The playing XI for both teams is out!
Mumbai City FC (4-4-2): Amrinder Singh; Mourtada Fall, Amey Ranawade, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Hernan Santana; Raynier Fernandes, Rowlin Borges, Ahmed Jahouh, CY Goddard; Bipin Singh, Adam Le Fontre.
Bengaluru FC (4-3-3): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Ajith Kumar, Francisco Gonzalez, Parag Srivas, Harmanjot Khabra; Erik Paartalu, Suresh Wangjam, Cleiton Silva; Xisco Hernandez, Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh.
6 PM: Here's how the two teams could line-up
Mumbai City FC predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Amrinder Singh; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Hernan Santana, Mandar Rao Dessai; Ahmed Jahouh, Rowllin Borges; Cy Goddard, Raynier Fernandes, Bipin Singh; Adam le Fondre.
Bengaluru FC predicted XI (4-4-2)
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Namgyal Bhutia, Francisco Gonzalez, Harmanjot Khabra, Ajith Kumar; Xisco Hernandez, Erik Paartalu, Suresh Wangjam, Parag Srivas; Sunil Chhetri, Cleiton Silva
5.45 PM: Podcast - The latest episode of 'The Full Time Show' features the Robbie Fowler interview with our reporters Shyam Vasudevan and Amitabha Das Sharma. We also take a deep dive into his controversy-courting maiden ISL coaching sojourn and his season with SC East Bengal.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Mumbai City FC will look to wrest back the initiative from ATK Mohun Bagan in the race for AFC Champions League qualification when it meets Bengaluru FC (BFC) at the Bambolim Stadium in the Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21)on Monday.
ATKMB edged Jamshedpur FC 1-0 on Sunday to go top of the table on 36 points. Mumbai, on 34, must win its game in hand to reclaim pole position.
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BFC may not exactly be that willing opponent, but is clutching at the straws, with its dreams of a playoff spot taking a severe beating after the crushing 2-0 defeat to ATKMB last Tuesday. Another reverse will in all probability dissipate whatever little hope is left.
Mumbai boss Sergio Lobera will however have to do without influential mid-fielder Hugo Boumous as he serves a two-match suspension for his fourth caution, and a direct red later for a run-in with the match officials, in the thrilling 3-3 draw against FC Goa last Monday. But Lobera was confident that his squad depth was adequate.
“We played three games without Boumous and then two games without (Ahmed) Jahouh,” he said on match-eve.
“We work as a team. It is not about an individual. If I have a full squad then it is obviously good as we play many games in a short time. [But] I have a very good squad to get three points,” he added.
Mumbai may have already sealed a playoff berth, but its recent form has been shaky. Of the last four matches, it has won just one and conceded seven times. In the 12 games before that, Mumbai had conceded just four.
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It remains to be seen if BFC can take advantage. In the absence of an injured Cleiton Silva against ATKMB, the attack looked toothless. It could do with some inspiration from Sunil Chhetri, who is set to feature in his 200th match for BFC across competitions.
Interim coach Naushad Moosa will also hope that Xisco Hernandez, the club’s mid-season signing, is fit enough to start a game and rejuvenate an unadventurous midfield.
The defence will continue to suffer, with Rahul Bheke joining Juanan on the injury list. Pratik Chaudhuri will miss the clash after picking up his fourth yellow card. But Moosa chose to be upbeat. The backline could be boosted by the return of Ashique Kuruniyan, who has recovered after suffering a fracture to his face.
“In the past few days, the results are going in every team’s favour!” he said.
“It’s important to stay focused. Defence is a bit of concern, but we have been working on that. It is important to take a few things from the last game (against ATK Mohun Bagan). In the first 35 minutes, we were compact. We have to do that for the whole 90 minutes,” he added.
Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 .
The seventh edition of the Indian Super League 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.
| ISL 2020-21 will be televised live at 7.30 pm IST on Star Sports and live streamed on Disney+Hotstar and Jio TV |