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The high-flying Bengaluru FC were brought down to earth by New Radiant SC, who earned a 2-0 win in Male, on Wednesday.
Bengaluru FC, who were coming on the back of a brilliant season, where they finished runners up int he Indian Super League, and as the champions in the inaugural edition of the Super Cup, were on a magnificent run in Asia as well, having won their first three AFC Cup matches.
However, their winning run was brought to an end by New Radiant SC, who have now posed a serious threat to Bengaluru FC's chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.
On that note, let's take a look at some of the key talking points from the match.
Sluggish start by Bengaluru FC
The Blues may have had a brilliant season so far, but this loss at the hands of New Radiant could put their entire Asian campaign in jeopardy.
While they were coming on the back of a 4-1 victory against East Bengal in the Super Cup final, they did not look like the same team that was facing the Maldivian club.
New Radiant had the onus from the start, and dominated the proceedings. The likes of Erik Paartalu and Lenny Rodrigues completely failed to take control of the midfield in this game, giving Oscar Bruzon’s side the upper hand from the first half itself.
Chhetri providing the momentary spark
Unlike their previous AFC Cup games, Sunil Chhetri was not rested for the away tie against New Radiant.And indeed, there was no apparent reason to rest him. The Super Cup final was on Friday, which gave their captain four days to recover. To add to that, there are no more domestic fixtures left.
Playing on the left wing, Chhetri made intelligent runs up the flank, always looking to make entries intothe dangerous areas. However, he was thwarted time and again by a determined New Radiant defence. The 33-year-old had a golden chance to score one goal in the first half, when he borke into the box from the left side, turned and tried to slip the ball between keeper Imran Mohamed’s legs. However, the Maldives custodian managed to get something on the shot, and deflected it away.
Bengaluru defence terrorised by Ali Ashfaq
The Bengaluru defence looked completely out of sorts in this match. The Blues missed the massive frame of John Johnson in defence, as the pairing of Nishu Kumar and Junan looked out of sorts against a potent New Radiant attack.
They may have had majority of possession, but the Maldives side was sharp on the counter. They caught the BFC back four napping time and again, especially making inroads through the wings. To add to that, Bengaluru, who were looking to play the high line, did not really have many answers for the home side. This could well have been a three-four goal loss for them.
Ralte saves Bengaluru's blushes
He may be Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s understudy, he may have conceded two goals in this game, but Lalthuammawia Ralte showed yet again, why he is one of the best upcoming goalkeepers in the country.
Had it not been for Ralte, Bengaluru FC could very well have lost by a much bigger margin on the day. To put things into perspective, New Radiant SC took a total of 17 shots, out of which eight were on target.
The Blues were perhaps lucky to not concede another one, as Ralte was chipped in the second half, only for the ball to go on and hit the bar, but the diminutive goalkeeper showed his class between the sticks in this game.
Group E thrown wide open
Bengaluru FC were well and truly on their way towards qualification for the knockout stages, after three consecutive wins in Group E, which is the South Asian Zone group in the AFC Cup.
However, this result puts New Radiant FC in the driving seat at the top of the Group E table, as they are now ahead of the Blues both on goal difference , and on the head-to-head record.
If the Maldivians win all their remaining fixtures, they would make it to the Inter Zonal semifinals. Only the top team in Group E can make it to the knockout stage of the competition.
