Clinical Bengaluru hands Chennaiyin a 3-0 drubbing in the Southern Derby
Bengaluru extended their unbeaten run as they brushed aside Chhenniyin in a 3-0 win in ‘Match 72’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season. Iman Basafa scored the first goal from the penalty spot, whilst Udanta Singh’s strikes in either half piled the misery on the Marina Machans.
The Blues’ head coach Marco Pezzaiouli made wholesale changes to his starting XI. Suresh Singh was brought in to replace Bruno Ramires in the middle of the park, while Udanta replaced Cleiton Silva. There was also a change on the goalkeeping front as Lara Sharma was handed his ISL debut owing to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s unavailability.
Similarly, Chennaiyin head coach Bozidar Bandovic also had to make plenty of changes to his starting XI. Reagan Singh, Germanpreet, and Mirlan Murzaev replaced Ninthoi Meetei, Ariel Borysiuk, and Rahim Ali respectively while Lukasz Gikiewicz led the lines for the Marina Machans in place of Nerijus Valskis.
Bandovic’s men had a bright start and could have scored in the 9th minute as a Parag Shrivas misplaced pass found Gikiewicz but the Polish marksman’s shot was kept out by a brilliant save from Lara.
The Marina Machans were made to pay for their miss only a couple of minutes later when Sunil Chhetri drew a foul from Edwin Sydney Vanspaul in the penalty box. Iman Basafa stepped up to take the penalty and found the top left corner with a precise strike, as Chennaiyin’s custodian Debjit Majumder remained helpless.
The two-time champions fought hard for an instant comeback as Germanpreet Singh and Vladimir Koman tried their luck from distance in a span of three minutes, but both shots were way off target.
For the second time on the night, the missed opportunities proved costly as Bengaluru doubled their lead in the 42nd minute. A defense-splitting through ball from midfield found Chhetri in space, who used his enormous experience and trickery to beat his marker and then deceive another with a fake shot. With the goal gaping, the Bengaluru skipper could easily have slotted the ball to the back of the net but unselfishly laid it off for Udanta, who made it 2-0 for the Blues.
Bandovic brought on Ali to replace Germanpreet in the second half, while Pezzaiouli replied by bringing on Rohit Kumar to stabilize his midfield.
After dealing with Chennaiyin’s initial spell of dominance, the Blues once again showed their class in the 52nd minute when Udanta forced Mohd Sajid Dhot into a mistake before Slavko Damjanovic lost his footing in a dangerous area. The winger then rounded past Majumder to finish off the move, giving his side an unassailable 3-0 lead.
The Chhetri-Udanta partnership kept Chennaiyin’s backline humble throughout the match
In a desperate attempt for a comeback, Bandovic introduced Valskis in attack, but that did not change the complexion of the match as the Blues kept creating chances consistently. In the 63rd minute, Chhetri once again turned provider as he delivered an accurate ball for Prince Ibara, but the Congolese forward’s powerful effort struck the side-netting.
A minute later, Rohit also tried his luck with a long-range effort but like his teammate, he too could only find the side-netting. The last big chance of the game came in the 90th minute when Chhetri’s cross found Edmund Lalrindika, but the youngster’s effort was not good enough to test Majumder.
With this win, Bengaluru has climbed to the sixth spot and will look to continue their winning momentum when they take on Kerala Blasters on Monday while the fifth-placed Chennaiyin will be up against East Bengal on Wednesday.