ISL 2022-23: Fans ecstatic after clinical Bengaluru FC beat Odisha FC to spice up playoffs battle

At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, Bengaluru FC defeated Odisha FC 3-1 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 to secure back-to-back victories for the first time this season and enter the playoff race.

Rohit Kumar broke the deadlock before Roy Krishna ended his ten-game goalless streak to double the Blues' advantage. Diego Mauricio pulled one back from the spot in the opening stages of the second half, but the home side managed to close Odisha FC's pursuit for the major part of the game before Pablo Perez came on to score his first goal for the Blues in stoppage time to wrap up all three points. This was the first time this season that Bengaluru FC scored more than two goals in a game.

Sandesh Jhingan replaced Aleksander Jovanovic in the Bengaluru FC defence as Simon Grayson only made one alteration to his starting lineup. Odisha FC's starting lineup remained the same for the first time in 13 Hero ISL games this season under Josep Gombau.

Even though the Juggernauts had the majority of the early possession, they were the victims of two quick goals. A cross from the right side by Javi Hernandez was cut back across the goal by Alan Costa directly into the path of Rohit Kumar, who put the ball in the goal just 25 minutes into the game.

Three minutes later, Sivasakthi Narayanan sprinted down the left wing against the flow of play and sent a flawless through pass to Roy Krishna. After taking a touch, the Fijian calmly slid the ball past Amrinder Singh to snap a ten-game goalless streak. Five minutes before halftime, Hernandez seized on a loose ball close to the halfway line and surged toward the goal, but Amrinder saved his close-range shot.

End-to-end football was played at the opening of the second half. Before Mauricio was pulled down at the other end by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu after eluding Parag Shrivas, the hosts had a few chances that Amrinder turned away. The striker took the penalty and converted it to give his team a point by sending Sandhu the wrong way. The striker had scored five goals for his team in three games.

Then, in the 70th minute, Victor Rodriguez, who had come on as a halftime substitute, had an injury and had to be replaced by Pedro Martin. As Bengaluru FC pushed hard in Odisha FC's third, substitutes Udanta Singh and Pablo Perez combined to score on the counterattack in the 92nd minute, putting an end to the match.

As a result, the playoff race is now more evenly divided, with Bengaluru FC being only three points behind Chennaiyin FC in seventh place and Odisha FC once again vulnerable to being passed by FC Goa to claim fifth place. On Wednesday, January 18, the Blues will play their next game at Jamshedpur. The Juggernauts' next game is against ATK Mohun Bagan on January 28; they won't play in the upcoming Matchweek.

Here's a look at how some of the Bengaluru FC fans reacted to their team's win over Odisha FC: