While he did not get a goal to his name, Sunil Chhetri played a crucial role in two of Bengaluru’s three goals against Chennaiyin at the GMC Athletic Stadium on Wednesday night. The Blues continued their march into the top half with their latest win.
Bengaluru FC extended their unbeaten run to seven games following their latest win over top-four hopefuls Chennaiyin FC. The Blues started the 2021/22 campaign worryingly, but results lately have seen them scale towards the top half of the table; they are right on the tail of fifth-placed Chennaiyin and only three points away from the league leaders Hyderabad.
Sunil Chhetri – a goal away from becoming the outright highest scorer in Indian Super League history – played a crucial role in two of Bengaluru’s three goals on the night. The Blues survived an early scare when Lukasz Gikiewicz could not fully capitalize on a miscued clearance by Parag Shrivas, and his effort was diverted onto the crossbar by stand-in goalkeeper Lara Sharma.
At the other end, a rough shoulder barge by Edwin Vanspaul on Chhetri inside the box compelled the referee to award Bengaluru a penalty. The Indian skipper stepped aside and let Iman Basafa do the honors from the spot – and the Iranian did so with aplomb.
Having taken the lead, Bengaluru restricted their opponents into taking shots from distance, none of which troubled Sharma in goal. Chennaiyin’s commitment towards scoring the equalizing goal opened up spaces which the Bengaluru attackers exploited to great effect just before half-time.
Udanta Singh led a quick break before squaring the ball to Chhetri to the right of the goal. The 37-year-old dummied inside, leaving two Chennayin defenders on the ground, and then took another disguised touch, sending two more hurtling in the wrong direction, before squaring the ball back to Udanta for a simple tap in.
Bengaluru’s raced further clear shortly after the restart. A long ball over the top pulled the Chennaiyin defence out of shape. To make matters worse, Mohammad Sajid Dhot slid over the ball while attempting to clear it; Udanta capitalized and rounded the goalkeeper to score again. From then on, it was smooth sailing for Bengaluru, who held on to claim another massive three points and continue their climb towards the top.
