Sunil Chhetri came up with two late goals as Bengaluru FC edged past Mohammedan SC 2-1 in the Indian Super League here on Wednesday. The Blues now have registered a win against all three Kolkata clubs this season. It was Cesar Manzoki, who handed the hosts an early lead but Chhetri came on as a substitute and stuck twice to see the visitors return home with a famous win. Chhetri thus became the first player to score against all the 15 ISL teams and now also leads the league in scoring the most spot-kicks (20) in the competition’s history.
Mohammedan SC opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Manzoki rose highest to head the ball home from Kasimov’s beautiful corner.
The second half started with a golden opportunity for the hosts to double their lead. Manzoki controlled a long ball with aplomb, setting up play for Franca in the penalty box. However, the Brazilian’s effort was way off target.
In the 53rd minute, Gerard Zaragoza decided to bring on Chhetri to add more attacking impetus. The move allowed Jorge Pereyra Diaz to switch to a wider role with Chhetri taking the central position.
While the Blues dominated possession, they failed to create openings even with Chhetri on the field. Williams caused some trouble with his crosses but the Australian was not on the same wavelength as Diaz.
In the 70th minute, Chernyshov decided to freshen things up by bringing Alexis Gomez in place of Franca. The Argentine almost made an instant impact for the hosts when Remsanga released him on the left flank following a fast break.
Gomez composed himself and struck the ball low to the left but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu denied him with a fantastic save.
In the 82nd minute, Manzoki brought down Capo in the penalty box to reward the Blues with a perfect opportunity to equalize.
Chhetri stepped up and hammered the ball into the extreme left corner to bring Bengaluru FC back into the game.
Mohammedan SC almost had the perfect retaliation after conceding. Gomez won the possession and released Remsanga on the right, who found Manzoki in the box. The lanky forward lost his marker with his smart movement but his header struck the post on its way out.
In the end, despite all odds, Bengaluru FC eventually took the lead in the dying moments of the match when Chhetri stepped up from Lalremtluanga Fanai’s cross to head the ball home past Bhaskar in goal.
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