ISL 2020-21: Bengaluru FC's all-round display ensures 4-2 win over Kerala Blasters
This was Bengaluru FC's second win of the season in five matches, along with three draws, as they have risen to the fourth spot in the table. As for Kerala Blasters, it was their third loss of the season, along with a couple of draws in five matches, while they stay in the ninth spot.
FollowIn what turned out to be an entertaining encounter, Bengaluru FC struck four times to outplay Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21, at the Fatorda Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. The win helped Bengaluru rise to the fourth spot, while Kerala remain winless in the opening five games, losing three and drawing a couple.
The first half was off to a strong start, as there were three initial attempts made. However, Rahul Kannoly Praveen gave Kerala the lead in the 16th minute, courtesy his right-footed strike to the right bottom corner, from the right flank, following an assist from Gary Hooper.
It was followed by a couple of more attempts, as Cleiton Silva brought the deadlock back on with a right-footed shot to the right bottom corner, from the centre, 12 minutes later. While it followed five more attempts from both, none could break the deadlock at the half-time whistle.
The second half saw an even intense display from both. Although the hosts' penalty in the 47th minute was saved, it was three-minutes later, when Kristian Opseth gave them the lead, with a left-footed strike to the middle of the goal, from the centre, as Ashique Kuruniyan came up with the assist.
Just a couple of minutes later, it was followed by their third goal, from Dimas Delgado, whose fierce right-footed shot to the top-right corner, from the centre, did justice to the assist from Cleiton Silva. Meanwhile, the hosts were looking relentless, as they followed it up with a couple of more attacks in the next four minutes.
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However, Vicente Gómez pulled one back for the visitors in the 60th minute. It was his header to the bottom-left corner, from the centre, after a cross from Facundo Pereyra.
Nevertheless, just four minutes later, Bengaluru undid Kerala's bid for a comeback, as Sunil Chhetri came up with a header to the top-right corner, from the centre, following a cross from Harmanjot Khabra. It eventually turned out to be the winner, as the following five attempts did not yield results, with Bengaluru riding home with a 4-2 win.
Following the game, Bengaluru head coach, Carles Cuadrat said, "I think this was a nice game to watch. Last time, we had lots of attacking chances, I think 21 in the final third. And, this game, the players were ready. I'm so happy with the performance of the guys. It was a difficult match, a derby with lots of passion and emotion. We conceded an early goal due to our mistake in a set-piece, which is our weapon. We missed a penalty too. To come back from that, we needed to be strong mentally. We showed that and worked as a unit. It's a very important three points."
Meanwhile, Kerala head coach Kibu Vicuna expressed his frustration at the side's winless streak, by saying, "We are frustrated because of the result. We conceded too many goals. In the last two games, we've conceded seven. It's not possible to continue like this. It's very difficult to score goals against Bengaluru, but we got two. But, the easy goals we concede, ruin our chances. The first and third goals, even the penalty, shouldn't have been given away. Bengaluru is the best team during set-pieces and we prepared for that. If we talk about positives, we defended well during our first goal, went on the counter and scored a good goal."
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