In a crucial match of the ISL, host Atk Mohun Bagan was given a reality check by the highly motivated Bengaluru FC who continued their match-winning streak at the Yuva Bharati Kridangan.
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Teams for the match
Bengaluru FC continued with their settled team and had all foreign players along with Sunil Chhetri on the bench available for the match giving them a good solid backup
In the first half of the match
Both teams equally dominated the first half with Atk Mohun Bagan enjoying the possession more than the visiting team who were losing balls from good positions. Right back Ashish Rai’s shot from just outside the box took a slight deflection to make it a dangerous ball for Gurpreet but the tall Goalie was in full form as he made a full-stretch diving save to prevent the home team from taking the lead. Shivasakthi who was in prolific touch for the last four matches appeared ed little off-target as he missed a couple of close chances. But he was clinical with the ball and the trio of Roy Krishna, Javi Hernandez, and Shivashakti made it a delight for the fans.
For Atk Mohan Bagan Dimitri Pedratos was having a tough time in the box with a short supply of passes and was missing Hugo Boumous who is the creative general for the Atk Mohun Bagan in the center. But Ashish Rai stood up on the occasion to test Gurpreet again before the closing of the first half when he dribbled past Parag Shrivas.
The second half turned out to be the difference between the host and visiting Bengaluru FC
Bengaluru appeared to be more concentrated in the attack and with beautiful ball distribution they managed to push back the Atk Mohan Bagan and forced them to cause small mistakes outside the box, as a result of a beautiful short pass from Rohit to Naorem Roshan Singh, who send in a beautiful cross to which Javi Hernandez’s beautiful volley was enough to create a spiral of silence among the crowds.
A few minutes later substitute Pablo Perez gave a beautiful cross to the box which took a deflection from Vishal Kaith, to land in the feet of Roy Krishna who neatly finished it to send fans of his ex-team back home. Atk Mohun Bagan had a couple of chances from a volley of Pritam Kotal and a beautiful one-touch short from Liston Colaco, but the Ex wall of Atk Mohan Bagan Sandesh Jhingan was at its best to keep the home team away. The home side had a moment to cherish when a Dimitri Pedratos strike took a deflection from Alan Costa to go into the net but it was too late for the home side for making a comeback.
Turning tales for Bengaluru FC
After having a disappointing start to their tournament Bengaluru FC have recalibrated at the right as they have bounced back from trailing at the 8th position of the league to reaching the 6th position giving nightmares to Odisha FC, Goa FC, and Chennaiyan Fc who are competing for a spot inside the top 6.
This was the first time in the league that Bengaluru FC defeated Atk Mohun Bagan in the league. With players finding their form at the right moment it will be a very intriguing week of Isl when the battle for the top 6 remains very much an option with so many contenders following each other closely.
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