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Bengaluru hosted FC Goa in what was an exciting match. It was billed as the rivalry between two of the highest goal scorers of the league Corominas and Miku. Bengaluru went into the game high on confidence sitting on the top of the table with a healthy lead, whereas FC Goa slipped to the sixth spot, after their recent slump in performances.
Goa were desperate for the three points which would propel them to the top four, whereas Bengaluru FC wanted the three points to extend their lead in the top of the table.
Bengaluru got the lead in the first half through an Edu Garcia header which helped BFC go into the halftime break with a 1-0. Bengaluru went on to completely dominate the second half and scored another goal to win the game 2-0, and in turn become the first team to book a spot in the playoffs. Goa’s slump on the other hand continued and a spot in the playoffs looks more difficult now.
On that note, we take a look at the player ratings of today’s game.
Bengaluru FC
Gurpreet Singh (8/10): Gurpreet made some good saves during the game and denied Goa the crucial goal that they were in search off, even though most of the shots apart from two of them were from half chances he took chances and made sure he cleared the ball. He made a very good save from a Lanzarote shot in the dying moments of the game.
Rahul Bheke (7/10): Bheke was tasked with the job of keeping Mandar Rao Desai quiet and he did manage to do his job quite well. But Mandar did get the better of Rahul on a couple of occasions. Another thing that was noteworthy was that Rahul did venture forward oftenly, but had problems tracking back to cover his lines.
John Johnson (7/10): John Johnson did his best to keep Coro quiet; he lunged into tackles, pushed and shoved the Goa players and made sure that Goa didn’t score. He did make some rash clearances and committed some unwanted fouls too
Juanan (7.5/10): Juanan was the better of the two centre-backs; he was more disciplined making some crucial interceptions and clearances. He also did a good job to build up play from the back.
Nishu Kumar (7/10): Nishu worked hard as the left-back and covered a lot of ground, but he was often beaten by the likes of Lanzarote and Seriton. Nishu did manage to put in a couple of crosses into the box.
Dimas Delgado (9/10): Dimas played a big role in the BFC midfield today, he was excellent in cutting down Goa’s attacks in the midfield and always had a presence while going forward. He was also the main man who countered Jahouh physical presence in the middle of the park. Dimas also scored a beautiful goal for BFC. He was also the main lynchpin in the BFC midfield tonight.
Lenny Rodrigues (7/10): Lenny helped out his defenders very well as his movement and anticipation were praiseworthy. He could have worked a bit more on his forward passing and attacking instincts. He did have a good shot at goal saved by Naveen Kumar.
Toni Dovale (8.5/10): Toni Dovale had a good game, and was a menace for the Goa defence. He had two assists to his name as he assisted both the first and second goal for Bengaluru. Dovale moved inside and cut outside at will and looked very calm and composed on the ball.
Edu Garcia (8.5/10): Scored a beautiful header from a Toni Dovale corner, and was big presence in every move Bengaluru instigated. He also had a big role to play in the second goal BFC scored as it was his jinxing dribble past a few Goa players that helped Dovale set up Dimas.
Sunil Chhetri (6/10): To be honest captain Chhetri didn’t have the best of games tonight. He had a pass completion rate of around 50%, which is poor in any level football. He couldn’t create many chances too. He did have a good shot saved by Naveen though.
Semboi Haokip (6/10): Semboi hardly had touches of the ball, and couldn’t do much upfront. He was also isolated at times and his runs seemed out of sync compared to his teammates, but he did very well to apply the high press on the Goa defence and did press them into having a few problems. He also missed a very good chance to give BFC the lead.
FC Goa
Naveen Kumar (7.5/10): Even though he conceded two goals, Naveen Kumar had a good game. He made some good saves from close quarters as well as from distances. Had Naveen not made some of the saves he made, Goa would have suffered a much bigger defeat.
Seriton Fernandes (7/10): Seriton worked very hard all throughout the match and made some good interceptions and blocks. He also moved forward often and gave Nishu Kumar a hard time.
Bruno Pinheiro (6.5/10): Bruno Pinheiro looked composed on the ball and nearly completed every pass he attempted. He was also the only Goa player who tried to stop the first goal from going in while the others were just ball watching.
Mohamed Ali (7/10): Mohamed Ali had another good game, even though his side conceded two goals, he did look impressive as he made some very crucial interceptions and clearances. He also had a big role to play in keeping Semboi quiet throughout the game.
Narayan Das (5.5/10): Narayan was probably the busiest of the defenders for Goa as he was time and again called into action by the runs from Dovale, Dimas and Rahul Bheke. He did look beat on a couple of occasions and had troubles keeping Dovale in check.
Ahmed Jahouh (6/10): Ahmed Jahouh had a night to forget, as he was way below his usual self. His pass completion rates were very poor and he was also overrun by the likes of Dimas, Lenny, and Edu Garcia with ease.
Edu Bedia (6/10): Edu Bedia like his midfield partner didn’t have a night to remember, they failed to control the game. Edu failed to create any clear-cut openings and was beaten by his namesake in Blue with ease.
Mandar Rao Desai (5.5/10): Mandar made some good runs past Rahul but his final balls and crosses were really poor. Somehow Bengaluru had all the answers to every trick Mandar had up his sleeves.
Manuel Lanzarote (6.5/10): Lanzarote played out of position and down the flanks for Goa today, and gave Nishu big problems. But Lanzarote also failed to exert his usual presence in the game even though he made some good runs. His set pieces and crosses were way below par.
Ferran Corominas (6.5/10): Coro too played in an unusual position of just behind the striker; he did look lively in his usual position as he looked to be the main creative force for Goa but was a shadow of his usual self-today.
Manvir Singh (6/10): Manvir didn’t have a game he would remember as he had few touches of the ball inside the box. He had a couple of shots but those were far from being convincing shots. His passes and link up with Coro was also something that needs a lot of work.
