A crunch game, a goal from Sunil Chhetri and the West Block Blues in full voice. On Wednesday night at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, it felt like old times again.
Up against a Mumbai City FC side, already the Indian Super League shield winners and just two games away from an undefeated season, Bengaluru did what they do best. Rather, what they used to do best - find a way to win.
A 2-1 win on the night, fourth on the table and one foot firmly planted in the playoffs. It ticked all the boxes. But this win, their seventh on the trot, meant more than that. It cemented something that was only whispered till now. Bengaluru FC are back!
It was a typical performance from the home side, built on sturdy defence, perhaps even a tad extra deliberate on account of who they were facing. Bengaluru had the better of the chances in the first half thanks largely to Chhetri.
Back in the starting eleven and leading the line, the Indian captain broke in behind early on but a combination of an onrushing Phurba Ladhenpa and defenders kept him from finding the net.
Mumbai's lone chance came at the end of the first half when Bipin Singh ran in behind the defence but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood tall.
The first goal came in the 57th minute when Chhetri charged in and met Hernandez's corner with his head. His celebration, exuberant, showed the elation of a superstar chomping at the bit to return after six games out of the starting eleven.
Bengaluru doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Aleksandar Jovanovic, an improbable source for assists, beat a horde of Mumbai defenders with one touch and rush, and squared the ball to Hernandez to find the net.
Mumbai, a team that time and again come back from behind, pulled one back seven minutes later when a corner was turned in by Fall at the line after Rostyn Griffiths header across.
At that point, there might have been jitters, there were half chances too but to their credit, Bengaluru managed the game well to hold on to that result. Now, onto FC Goa.