Bengaluru give Bagan the blues

Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC marched on to the top of the Indian Super League table with a 3-0 thrashing of Shield holders Mohun Bagan Super Giant at a buzzing Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday.

It was a signal of intent from BFC, who were in control from start to finish. Edgar Mendez and Suresh Singh Wangjam netted in the first half, while Sunil Chhetri added the third from the spot to become the highest goal-scorer in the ISL.

Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza made two changes to the line-up. Sunil Chhetri and Aleksandar Jovanovic came in for Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Chinglensana Singh.

The siege on the Mohun Bagan back-line began when Vishal Kaith palmed away Vinith Venkatesh’s curling free-kick from a tight angle. The custodian safely gathered Rahul Bheke’s header from the resultant corner.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had to plunge to his left to thwart Dimitri Petratos’ free kick, but Bengaluru FC opened the scoring at the other end through Mendez, who hammered in Nikhil Poojary’s downward header from Alberto Noguera’s corner to bring the roof down in the ninth minute.

The Blues doubled their advantage in the 20th minute through Wangjam. Vinith found Mendez in space and played a piercing through ball. Mendez’s cross clipped Chhetri’s heels and fell to Wangjam - whose finish was unerring, and his Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired celebration unfeigned.

Bengaluru FC enjoyed sustained spells of possession in the midfield, thanks to the uncertain positioning and constant swapping of Mohun Bagan’s attackers. Greg Stewart was hesitant to play line-breaking passes for fear of losing possession, and the well-drilled Bengaluru FC defence worked hard off the ball to maintain a compact shape.

A steady shower paid a visit just past the half-hour mark, and this helped the hosts zip passes around with purpose. After all, rain and the Kanteerava share a special bond.

The second half began on an identical note, with BFC enjoying the lion’s share of possession and inducing peril with every attack. Mendez drew a foul from Dippendu Biswas in the box, and Chhetri dispatched the penalty, his 64th goal in the ISL, convincingly.

Uncertainty continued to prevail among the Bagan ranks, with passes not finding the intended targets multiple times. Jose Molina brought on Sahal Abdul Samad for the second period, but the midfielder sustained an injury and was hooked off for Liston Colaco.

The Mariners resorted to whipping in crosses from deep, and this tactic led to a few opportunities. Still, Aleksandar Jovanovic and Rahul Bheke ensured that the dangerous second balls were accounted for, while Naorem Roshan Singh, Poojary and Pedro Capo all essayed their defensive roles with aplomb.

Sivasakthi Narayanan could have added a fourth but was denied by Kaith. When the full-time whistle blew, 15,000 supporters clad in blue broke into a heartfelt rendition of SP Balasubrahmanyam’s ‘Santoshakke’, followed by a ‘Viking Clap’ with the players. A fitting end to a joyous occasion.

Result: Bengaluru FC: 3 (Edgar Mendez 9th, Suresh Singh Wangjam 20th, Sunil Chhetri 51st) bt Mohun Bagan Super Giant: 0.