LIVE UPDATES
92' Juan Antonio Gonzalez has been adjudged Hero of the Match.
90' SUBSTITUTION: Gursimrat walks in for Chhetri. This will be his first appearance, this season. Meanwhile, we will have an added time of four minutes.
80' GOAL! A defensive horror from NEUFC! An unmarked Serran in the box sees the defender pocket his first goal of the season as Erik sends in a delightful cross from the flanks.
78' Another missed opportunity! NEUFC couldn't have come this close to equalising. Triadis fizzes one from a tight angle but it has missed the target.
76' SUBSTITUTION: Ninthoi comes in for Redeem. Lakra comes in for Nim.
70' NEUFC's Gallego completes his return from injury, replacing Leudo for the last 20 minutes of this encounter. He is greeted with wild cheers from the home crowd.
66' PENALTY AWARDED TO BFC after Redeem handles the ball in the box! The 15th spot kick of the season will be taken by India and BFC skipper Sunil Chhetri. Is this the moment?
Sunil Chhetri's piercing shot, which finds the bottom left corner of the net, puts Bengaluru 1-0 up. Easy as it goes, Chhetri scores his fifth goal of the season.
64' Both the sides have restricted each other to the midfield. The defences of each side have been impenetrable.
59' Sunil Chhetri ghosts in at the far post and heads a cross on target but there is not enough thrust on it to cause any serious damage. Moreover, he was a bit too far out.
54' Meanwhile, the balance is shifting in favour of the host as it now enjoys a better possession now. The intensity of playmaking has clearly seen a rise after the first half but they do have to breach a strong BFC defence to cause some trouble.
#StatAttack: NorthEast United FC has conceded 44% of goals from corners.
50' Jose Leudo handles the ball: the referee awards a free kick but does not book him. The NorthEast United FC skipper can count himself lucky.
48' FOUL! Bheke has been called out by the referee for jersey pulling.
46' All square, all to play for in the second half at the IG Stadium in Guwahati. Interestingly, Ashique has been replaced at half-time with Semboi Haokip. Is it an injury after the physical battle for winning the ball on the left flank in the 32nd minute? We are yet to know.
SECOND HALF
45' Two minutes of added time, folks. Delgado, too far out of the box, gets the last touch on an NEUFC corner, before the ball sails out of play.
38' Bengaluru is having a bad day. Rahul Bheke tests Subhasish Roy again with a header off a pinpoint curler from another setpiece taken by Dimas Delgado. Bheke tries to nod it in towards the left corner of the net but Roy throws himself to stop the ball just outside the line.
36' Another foul and Rahul Bheke would be relieved that the referee doesn't dish out a yellow card.
32' MISS OF THE SEASON, is it?! Udanta spoils a golden opportunity. Ashique wins a battle for the ball on the left wing and sends in an impeccable cross. An open goal in sight, Udanta comes in with a diving header, but, but, but... It ricochets off the crossbar. That must be devastating!
30' 56% of Bengaluru's corners have come from set-pieces and now it has yet another opportunity to take a lead before half-time. The ball swirls in towards Chhetri who goes for a shot. The wall does it again for NEUFC. Its defence has been top-notch today.
25' Bengaluru heaves a sigh of relief after Gurpreet makes a crucial save as Chaves outruns Serran on the left and intercepts Bheke to nudge one on target.
20' Khawlrhing's shot goes for a corner after taking a deflection.
15' Ashique displays his defensive prowess, dispossesses a NorthEast United player before blocking the cross from another.
11' CLOSE SHAVE! Sunil Chhetri's taken charge of the ball. The skipper passes the ball into the box, but his effort is thwarted.
7' Leudo's hacked Ashique to the ground and he's in some discomfort. Senen Alvarez, the club physio, has made his way onto the pitch to tend to the injury.
4' - SAVE! Sunil Chhetri feeds a through pass to Ashique Kuruniyan on the left but the latter's shot is guarded by Subhasish, who goes down early to collect the ball.
2' - A defensive lapse from Bengaluru FC sees Martin Chaves send a back pass to Lalengmawia, who tries to slot home but to no avail.
FIRST HALF
NorthEast United FC 0-0 Bengaluru FC
The national anthem has been sung and we are all set for the live action to commence!
On the table
FC Goa leads the table with 15 points from eight games while Hyderabad FC is languishing at the bottom with just four points. NorthEast United FC, fifth in the table with 10 points from seven games, will hope to deny No. 3 Bengaluru FC a chance to go top with a win in Guwahati.
Match preview
Bengaluru FC will be eager to make amends after suffering a first defeat of the season on Sunday. After being undone by an injury-time strike at home against Mumbai City, Carles Cuadrat's men have now made the long trip to Assam to face Northeast United. Wednesday's Indian Super League clash at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, originally scheduled to be played behind closed doors, will now be open to supporters.
Despite having shipped three goals on Sunday, BFC holds the best defensive record in the league, having conceded only five goals in total. It is the offensive display that will concern Cuadrat, with none of the attackers, apart from Sunil Chhetri, seemingly in form.
“Last year we were champions but we lost an important player (Miku)," the BFC head coach said. "We have been unlucky about the situation now. Ashique (Kuruniyan) is with 0 assists and 0 goals and Udanta (Singh) only one goal. So, of course, we have problems that way but at the same time we work in a way where they help us defensively.”
NorthEast, on the other hand, is now winless in three matches and comes into this game fresh off a 3-0 loss to ATK. The side also lost star striker Asamoah Gyan to injury in that game, with the Ghanaian unlikely to feature against BFC.
“It was very bad for us. That was the worst match we played. We never played so badly before. We have to forget that day and continue working hard,” NorthEast coach Robert Jarni said.
BFC, meanwhile, will be without Manuel Onwu, who is yet to recover from an ankle injury. Northeast's Federico Gallego, who suffered a broken leg against BFC last season, will return to action for the Highlanders.
Match details
North East United FC vs Bengaluru FC will be telecast on the Star Sports network and can also be streamed live on Hotstar. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM IST.
Comments
SHARE