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Bengaluru FC welcomed their fierce rivals Chennaiyin FC to Kanteerava Stadium which saw the hosts narrowly defeat the reigning Champions. The scoreline read 1-0, thanks to Miku's first half thumping finish to secure three points for his side.
Chennaiyin FC will be fuming with the amount of clear-cut chances they missed in the first half and did not strike back to earn a point away from home.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Miku clinical in front of goal
Bengaluru's lethal frontman struggled to find the rhythm until he saw the back of the net bulge from his ferocious shot to gain the lead for the hosts going into the half-time. His linkup play with Sunil Chhetri in the counter-attacking situations forced Chennaiyin FC to defend deep for most of the second half.
Chennaiyin FC were left exposed when the Venezuelan switched the play with a terrific pass to find skipper Chhetri, but Inigo Calderon's last-ditch tackle to not allow the Blues No.11 to go past him meant the away side did not concede the second goal of the night.
He was constantly threatening the centre-backs Mailson Alves and Eli Sabia, by running behind them and holding the ball up to frustrate the opponents. He was rightfully adjudged with the Man of the match award.
#2 Jeje does not accept the invitation
Chennaiyin's striker Jeje Lalpekhlua had a game to forget. Before Miku scored the decisive goal for the hosts, the 27-year-old had two glorious chances to put the game beyond the sight of Bengaluru FC.
When Chennaiyin FC were counter-attacking, Dutchman Gregory Nelson found the feet of Jeje, who tried to square the ball to Germanpreet Singh's open net. But, the striker was caught in two minds and made life tougher for the midfielder who eventually slid to see the ball hit the side netting.
In another instance, BFC right-back Rahul Bheke's horrific back pass to find Gurpreet Singh Sandhu did not have much pace and Jeje seemed to have taken full advantage of it. The No.12 beat the shot-stopper, but he could not sort his feet out in time to score into the open net.
Coach John Gregory was disappointed by the attacker's display. On another day, Jeje would have probably found the back of the net on a couple of occasions.
#3 Much improved second half from the hosts
Carles Cuadrat's side pressed high up the pitch during the first half and struggled to penetrate the ball into the opposition half more often than not, despite going ahead in the game. Midfielders Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Khabra, and debutant Xisco Hernandez found it hard and were rattled by the Chennaiyin FC midfielders.
There would be a sigh of relief when the Blues walked into the tunnel after half-time with a lead, given the opponent's glaring misses. Chennaiyin FC were the dominant setup throughout the first 45 minutes. The goal from Miku did a world of good for the confidence of the hosts as they moved up a gear to put a completely different performance in the second half of the game to secure their first victory of this season.
John Gregory's side found it hard to break down the opposition's defense and did not have many moments to be pleased about after the break.
#4 Taking off Isaac exposed Chennaiyin FC
The 22-year-old midfielder Isaac Vanmalsawma made his debut for the reigning Champions and looked impressive against Bengaluru. Even though Chennaiyin FC struggled to find the back of the net, their side looked in complete control and the defense looked settled till he was present on the pitch.
Anirudh Thapa was substituted in for the debutant in the 59th minute but that did not do any favors for John Gregory as his side lacked energy in the middle of the park. Isaac's absence was clearly visible as Thapa and Germanpreet Singh struggled to find any sort of momentum to keep the passes ticking.
The midfield was overrun, leaving Bengaluru's attackers plenty of space at the back. In addition to this, Chennaiyin FC attackers Jeje, Nelson, Francis, and Augusto did not have much to do without the presence of the 22-year-old. Chennaiyin never really looked to trouble the scoresheet after his substitution. He looked top-notch with his defensive and attacking prowess.
#5 Presence of Gurpreet between the sticks
The Bengaluru FC shot-stopper had a good outing and made some spectacular saves to deny Chennaiyin FC to register their first goal of this season. When the away side looked in cruise control and Germanpreet launched a piledriver from outside the box, the Blues No. 1 parried the ball away to keep the home side in the game.
During the second half, Chennaiyin skipper Mailson Alves back-heeled the ball from close range only to see Gurpreet save it. Gregory Nelson dribbled past three players but did not break the deadlock for the opponents, thanks to yet another save from the goalkeeper.
The away side, with 16 goals from last season are a dangerous side in the league from set-piece situations, and on a couple of occasions, Germanpreet put in exceptional crosses to find the head of Jeje, but the shot-stopper was equal to the task to catch the ball.
