ISL Week 8: Of BFC's rise to the top and Jeje's birthday brace

Published : Jan 08, 2018 18:14 IST

A Sunil Chhetri screamer from 25 yards gave Bengaluru a 1-0 win at home, lifting the side to the top of the Indian Super League table at the halfway stage. <br> This was BFC's second successive win after a 3-1 win over Kerala Blasters last week. Bengaluru enjoys a one-point lead at the top and has 18 points from nine games in its debut ISL season.

Jeje Lalpekhlua celebrated his 27th birthday in style by scoring a brace but Chennaiyin FC was held to a 2-2 draw by bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos. <br> Chennai took a 2-1 lead early in the second half but a 90th minute equaliser from substitute Guyon Luis Fernandes snatched a much-needed point for the Dynamos. <br> CFC moved to the second spot with 17 points while DD remains at the bottom with four points.

Avram Grant got his ISL managerial career off to a winning start as NorthEast United scripted a vital 2-1 win over in-form FC Goa on Saturday. Marcio Junior and Seiminlen Doungel put NEUFC on the scoresheet while Goa got one back through Manuel Arana. <br> The win marked NEUFC's first win after a drab period of four successive losses. The Highlanders occupy the ninth position with seven points, while Goa is fifth with 13 points.

Thiago Santos rescued Mumbai City with a late equaliser in a 2-2 away draw at Jamshedpur. Mumbai went on top initially through a Santos goal but Nigerian striker Izu Azuka scored a quick brace to put the home side in the lead at halftime. <br> Santos came back to complete a brace of his own with a 71st minute strike, earning Mumbai a sole point from the tie. The draw took Mumbai to the fourth spot with 14 points from nine matches while Jamshedpur is placed sixth on the table with 10 points from eight matches.

Kerala Blasters played two halves of contrasting styles to earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Pune City on Thursday. Dutchman Markos Sifneos cancelled out Brazilian Marcelinho’s 33 minute strike in the 73th minute to grab a morale boosting draw for the home side and started David James tenure as manager on a happy note. <br> Pune would be ruing the chance as it dropped two valuable points ans sits on the third spot with 16 points from nine, while Kerala's woes continue on the eighth position, with eight points from as many games.

In one of the most bizarre ties, The clash between defending champ ATK and FC Goa was delayed by close to four hours due to logistical issues. Goa had a tough time reaching Kolkata owing to a technical snag on their flight and was forced to play within an hour of arriving at the stadium. <br> Robbie Keane got the home side off to a flyer in the fourth minute but Goa, despite all odds and minimum warm-up opportunity, fought back to score in the 24th minute via the league's top-scorer, Ferran Telechea. <br> ATK's title-defence seems quite unlikely as its third draw leaves it at nine points from eight games.

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A Sunil Chhetri screamer from 25 yards gave Bengaluru a 1-0 win at home, lifting the side to the top of the Indian Super League table at the halfway stage. <br> This was BFC's second successive win after a 3-1 win over Kerala Blasters last week. Bengaluru enjoys a one-point lead at the top and has 18 points from nine games in its debut ISL season.
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