Chhetri comes off the bench, sparks BFC to life

Go-to man: Chhetri was the star in Bengaluru FC’s 10th win in a row.

Mumbai

For an hour or so, Mumbai City FC confused and bewildered Bengaluru FC, attacking in waves and raining punches.
But for the second game running, Sunil Chhetri proved to be the ghost in the ring, mastering the art of hitting without getting hit.

His header in the 78th minute earned BFC a 1-0 win over Mumbai City FC in the first-leg of the semifinal at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday.

Away goals don’t count in the Indian Super League, which means the tie is still on a knife’s edge. But BFC’s 10th win in a row, against a full-strength MCFC, will be a massive confidence-booster ahead of the home leg on March 12.

The deciding goal came from a corner when an unmarked Chhetri buried a header from close range. The 38-year-old could have made things worse for MCFC in the dying minutes, but couldn’t finish off an overlapping run with just the goalkeeper to beat.

But until he came on as a substitute, the hosts were all over BFC, dominating possession and creating the bulk of chances, with the trio of Greg Stewart, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Bipin Singh running rings

A goal, however, remained elusive. In the 20th minute, Jorge Diaz couldn’t bury a free header off a fine cross from Ahmed Jahouh, and on 38 minutes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu thwarted the Argentine in the nick of time.

Simon Grayson made the first move for BFC just before the hour mark, bringing on Chhetri for N. Sivasakthi.

The India captain started influencing play from the get-go, combining with Javi Hernandez and Roy Krishna to produce BFC’s first real chance.

Though that ended with MCFC goalie Phurba Lachenpa making a low save from a tight angle off the boot of Hernandez, Chhetri had sparked his side to life.

By the end of it, he had his teammates dreaming of an appearance in the final.

The result:

Mumbai City FC 0 lost to Bengaluru FC 1 (Sunil Chhetri 78).