ISL 2022-23: All or nothing for Mumbai City as its advantage Bengaluru FC in the quest for Final
By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 12, 2023, 1:44 PM ISTISL 2022-23: The second leg of the semis happen on Sunday, as Bengaluru FC hosts Mumbai City, with the former carrying the 1-0 lead from the opening leg in Mumbai.
Former champion Bengaluru FC (BFC) is a positive result away from the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) Final, gearing up to host League Shield Winner Mumbai City (MCFC) in the second leg of their semi-final at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Sunil Chhetri scored the match’s only goal in the opening leg in Mumbai, and the Blues only need to avoid an upset versus the Islanders to approve a shot at the title.
The narrow victory versus MCFC last Tuesday saw BFC extend its ingratiating streak in the ISL to ten matches and was also its second successive success versus MCFC. The back three of Aleksandar Jovanovic, Sandesh Jhingan, and Bruno Ramires was robust in defence during the opening leg to shut out the Islanders’ record-breaking forward line-up.
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Suresh Wangjam’s work rate peaked, making crucial tackles and interceptions, while Roshan Naorem was menacing on the left flank before assisting Chhetri’s winning goal from a corner. Head coach Simon Grayson was pleased with his side’s assured performance in Mumbai and will likely field an unchanged XI in the second leg that will look to stifle its opponent’s free-flowing tone.
“We had to ensure we remain in the game for the second leg, which is what we have done. We have given ourselves an advantage against a good team. Our game plan will not change too much. We respect Mumbai because they have scored 54 goals this season. They have goals in them, but we have a lot of belief and can keep clean sheets and score goals ourselves”, said Grayson.
On the threshold of fulfilling an unbeaten league stage last month, MCFC’s run was ended by BFC. Since then, the Islanders have lost three straight contests, scoring only once. Head coach Des Buckingham fielded his most potent line-up in the opening leg after concluding the league stage with a second-string side. However, despite risking more than 20 shots in the fixture, MCFC didn’t cause many problems.
MCFC has tormented opponents from the broad areas throughout the season, but both Bipin Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte were kept moderately tranquil in the opening leg. The Islanders could potentially look to their stalwarts in the middle - Greg Stewart, Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Ahmed Jahouh - to endeavour and bug BFC’s defence this time.
“Until we conceded from the set piece, we had control of the game. We created chances but failed to hit the target. We have a group of players who know exactly what we need to do. The beauty of knockout football is that it gives you another chance to do what you want. We are ready, and so are the players,” said Buckingham.
In 13 ISL meetings, both sides have won on six instances each, and only a tie has ended in a draw. The Islanders must add a seventh win to their kitty to win the ISL title and do the league double.
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