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Bengaluru FC pile more misery on Mumbai City FC with a 3-0 victory in match number 56 of the Indian Super League 2021-22 at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda.
The defending champions miss the chance to regain the top spot and have collected only two points in the last five matches whereas Marco Pezzaiuoli’s men are only three points away from fourth place in the points table.
Danish Farooq (8′) gave the Blues an early lead which was extended to three by Prince Ibara (23′, 45′) who scored a first-half brace with two towering headed goals.
Gurpreet Sandhu was called into action early who saved two attempts from Cassio Gabriel and Bipin Singh within minutes following the kick-off. However, it was BFC that took the lead through Danish Farooq, whose left-footed drive from outside the box gave no chance to Phurba Lachenpa in goal.
Prince Ibara then joined the party after burying a header from close range to double the lead with only 23 minutes on the clock. The cross from Roshan Naorem was brilliant and the striker from Congo made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
The Blues continued to pile more pressure on the Islanders and created several scoring opportunities around the half-hour mark. Des Buckhingam’s men could not manage to contain the deficit to two goals as Ibara scored again with a header moments before the halftime whistle.
Roshan Naorem was again the provider with an accurate corner which saw the tall forward leap the highest to head the ball.
The start of the second half saw more of the same, with BFC threatening to score. However, MCFC got more hold of the possession and created better chances to reduce the deficit. Sunil Chhetri was brought on to replace Ibara who left the pitch owing to an injury. Five minutes past the hour mark, Apuia saw his half-volley from long-range hit the right-sided post and come out.
Ajith Kamaraj replaced Naorem who was struggling with a muscle issue late into the match. The fourth official added five minutes for stoppages but MCFC could not break the BFC defence. The Blues held on to a well-deserved clean sheet and secured all three points in a sensational overall performance.
Bengaluru FC will next turn up against ATK Mohun Bagan at the PJN Stadium on Saturday while Mumbai City FC meets Kerala Blasters FC at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Sunday.
Mumbai City FC (by Sattyik Sarkar)
Phurba Lachenpa (GK) – 5.0
A bad day at work for the Mumbai City goalkeeper. Conceded three goals, but can’t be entirely blamed for them. He also made four saves.
Mohamad Rakip – 5.5
He was subbed off after suffering an injury. Rakip locked one shot and committed a tackle. The right-back won just one ground duel out of three and failed to win any aerial challenges. Lost possession 19 times. Delivered one accurate long ball out of three attempts.
Mourtada Fall – 5.0
Fall wasn’t at his best. He should have done better in the second goal. The ball went over him and Ibara netted it calmly into the net. He made four clearances, interceptions and also committed a tackle and blocked two shots. Fall won five out of eight aerial duels and one out of three ground duels.
Rahul Bheke – 5.5
He received a yellow card. Bheke made four clearances and committed two tackles. He also blocked a shot and made an interception. Bheke won the only aerial duel he contested, but won just two out of six ground duels. Enjoyed a passing accuracy of 88% and delivered three accurate long balls out of four.
Vignesh Dakshinamurthy – 5.0
Vignesh committed just one tackle and made a clearance. He also won one ground duel in three attempts and failed to win any aerial duel. He also lost possession of the ball six times and delivered two long balls and was accurate in the take.
Bradden Inman – 5.5
He enjoyed a passing accuracy of 84% and delivered two key passes. Inman won three out of the eight ground duels and also blocked a shot.
Apuia Ralte – 6.5
A shot from the youngster kissed the crossbar in the second half. He enjoyed a passing accuracy of 87% and delivered two key passes and long balls at an accuracy of 50%. Apuia committed two tackles, apart from two interceptions and a clearance.
Cassinho – 6.5
Perhaps the best player on the pitch for the Islanders. The Brazilian delivered five key passes and delivered three accurate crosses out of eight. He won 50% of the ground duels and registered two shots on target.
Vinit Rai – 6.0
Rai failed to live up to the expectations. He made two clearances and one interception and also won just three out of seven ground duels. Rai also gave away three fouls and was booked.
Bipin Singh – 5.5
Bipin had a cold night at the Fatorda. He managed just one successful dribble and registered just one shot on target.
Ygor Catatau – 6.5
Played only in the first half. Catatau won 50% of both the aerial and ground duels.
Substitutes
Igor Angulo – 6.5
Angulo surprisingly did not start against Bengaluru FC. but his arrival on the pitch in the second half brought some life into the Mumbai City side. He attempted two shots, both off target. Two of his shots were also blocked by the opposition. Angulo won three out of five ground duels he contested.
Raynier Fernandes – 5.5
Came in place of Vinit Rai, but did not have the impact he would have wanted. Delivered one accurate long pass out of two.
Amey Ranawade – 6.0
Could have scored from an attempt but took too long to make something fruitful. Made two interceptions and a tackle and won two out five ground duels.
Gurkirat Singh – 6.0
He registered a shot on target and earned a needless booking. Gurkirat enjoyed a passing accuracy of 83%.
Mandar Rao Dessai – N/A
Came on too late to make any impact on the game.
Bengaluru FC (by Ujyant Ramesh)
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK) – 7.0
He was well-positioned while making saves in the first and second minute to save Vignesh and Angulo’s shots respectively. Apart from that, Gurpreet was called into action on a few more occasions and he cleared the ball with some punches and headers.
Naorem Roshan Singh – 9
Delivered a textbook cross after getting past Rahul Bheke near the touchline, for Prince Ibara to head in the first goal. Roshan also paired up again with him just before stoppage time as the Congolese striker replicated the same header.
Apart from that, he was virtually everywhere on the pitch, delivering crosses with both feet towards his attack — thereby creating the most number of chances in the game.
Pratik Chaudhari – 6.5
Won four duels and made a vital clearance off Igor Angulo’s shot in the 91st minute. But, he was also dangerous in the process of doing so committing three fouls and picking up a yellow for it.
Alan Costa – 7.0
Didn’t really have much to do today in defence except for a headed clearance in the second half.
Ashique Kuruniyan – 7.5
Made a final clearance with his sprint towards Bradden Inman inside the box after Gurpreet’s mistimed clearance. In the 78th minute, he also tried his luck with a sprint after a sloppy clearance by Mourtada Fall but ended up hitting the side netting.
Suresh Wangjam – 7.5
Was clean with his distribution. Suresh had some impressive first close touches and set up multiple fast breaks particularly in the second half.
Bruno Ramires – 7.5
He tried his luck with a long ranger right before half time, but a fine diving save by Phurba meant his shot was neutralized. Otherwise, he had a decent performance in midfield with 29 accurate passes, the highest among his peers.
Danish Farooq – 8.0
Replaced Jayesh Rane in the squad after the latter’s injury. Farooq scored the opener in the eighth minute by brilliantly smashing it into the bottom corner.
Udanta Singh – 7.0
Made some efforts with runs towards the far post, but couldn’t really deliver his best performance against Mumbai City. Udanta missed a shot from Roshan in the 22nd minute and another one with his acrobatic effort in the 40th minute.
Prince Ibara – 9.0
Scored twice with a well-timed header off Naorem Roshan Singh’s cross in the 23rd minute and a brilliant corner kick from him once again just before stoppage time.
Cleiton Silva – 7.0
Did everything but score a goal on Monday night, to put it bluntly. Had a total of three shots, won five duels and made multiple sprints towards and into the box. But he just couldn’t get himself on the scoresheet.
Substitutes:
Sunil Chhetri – 6.0
Replaced Prince Ibara in the 57th minute. Chhetri tried his luck with some sprints, but mistimed it and was caught offside on two occasions.
Iman Basafa – 6.0
Replaced Udanta Singh in the 67th minute. Had one shot on target later on.
Ajith Kumar – N/A
Came on in the 81st minute to replace Roshan after he limped off — from what looked like a cramp.
