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On a night when lightning punctuated the night sky in Bengaluru, threatening to bring in a thunderstorm, it was Chennaiyin FC that rained on Bengaluru FC's parade with a 3-2 win at the Kanteerava to clinch their second ISL trophy in four years.
It was heartbreak for the home fans who had turned up in numbers - a familiar feeling for those who were at the very same venue when Mohun Bagan had snatched the I-League title in the final four minutes of the season back in 2015.
For most of the ISL season, Bengaluru were the toast of the league for their clever use of set-pieces. Coaches of other teams were always quick to point out how the Blues were a major threat on corners and free-kicks, highlighting their success rate.
Instead, it was two set-piece goals from Chennaiyin (two headers from Mailson Alves) that knocked the stuffing out of the Blues - the second coming at the stroke of half-time to give the Chennai side a 2-1 lead going into the second half.
Despite taking the lead in the 9th minute, Bengaluru were guilty of missing a couple of gilt-edged chances while two decisions - Udanta's offside call and the non-existent penalty call for a foul on Nishu Kumar - may have turned the game in their favour.
However, there was no denying that Chennaiyin were the better team over the 90 minutes and deservedly walked away from the Kanteerava with the trophy.
Bengaluru's all-out attack pays off until Chennaiyin reorganise themselves
Without the services of the suspended Subashish Bose at left-back, Blues coach Roca had to make changes to his lineup and he went with a three-man defence of John Johnson, Erik Paartalu, and Juanan. At times it did look like a back-four with Rahul Bheke at right-back but he was given the liberty to bomb forward.
This gave Bengaluru a lot of impetus going forward with Bheke on one flank and Boithang Haokip on the other. Sunil Chhetri also played much closer to Miku compared to previous games and this pegged Chennaiyin back.
As a result, Chennai's wide players Gregory Nelson and Francis Fernandes spent more time in their own half because of Bengaluru's attacking wing-backs.
"We could have played better football and kept the ball better. We could have been careful with the ball and not give it back to Bengaluru, especially in the first half." - Chennaiyin coach Gregory
When Chennaiyin managed to get forward, Bengaluru pounced with a counter-attack of their own with Udanta freed down the right before he sent in his cross to the far post that allowed Chhetri to score with a diving header.
That was when Gregory sent instructions to his players and they started to exploit the three Bengaluru defenders by narrowing their scope of attack.
Even the full-backs who attacked always looked to find teammates in central positions in the final third rather than going out wide and peppering the box with crosses which Blues goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh was easily able to collect.
Also read: Even at 1-0 down, Chennaiyin were confident of beating Bengaluru FC, says Jeje
Chennaiyin's set-pieces steal the show
While Bengaluru were trying to be a little too clever with their set-pieces, almost pulling off some complex training ground routines, it was Chennaiyin that stuck to the basics to score twice from set-pieces.
The first thing one could notice were the decoys in the box. Players such as Chennai's 6'3" captain Henrique Sereno are usually expected to be a threat on corners. However, the centre-back always had his back to the ball.
Bengaluru defenders Johnson and Juanan actually read this ploy well and tried unsuccessfully to deal with it. Sereno had only one duty and that was to ensure other targets in the box would lose their markers. He was meant to act as the screen to allow the likes of Alves to get a free header.
As soon as Chennaiyin were ready to take their corners, Sereno could be seen communicating with his teammates in the box with barely perceptible nods in the direction he wanted them to make runs. And as soon as they were off, Sereno would step in front of that player's marker to block the defender's progress.
This was how Mailson Alves scored the first goal. The powerful Brazilian was virtually unchallenged when he rose highest in the box to head home the equaliser.
The second goal was almost similar to the first. The fact that Bengaluru were down to 10 men as Dimas Delgado exited the pitch with an injury only made things easier for Chennai.
Victor Perez wasn't allowed to take the field until after the set-piece and Alves seemed unmarked despite Juanan's desperate effort at a headed clearance. However, it was Rahul Bheke who had lost his man and he was in no position to challenge him in the air.
Two headers - either side of the stranded Gurpreet Singh - were enough to give the visitors all the momentum they needed going into the second half.
"We were knocked out when we thought we had control." - Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca
The final nail - Raphael Augusto's goal
With the Bengaluru crowd getting restless and the Blues also getting frustrated on the pitch in the second half, Roca decided to go for broke and made a double substitution and brought on one more forward in Daniel Segovia.
However, Paartalu had to be sacrificed as Roca switched back to a traditional back-four with Nishu Kumar coming on as a left-back while Juanan returned to centre-back.
One of Chennaiyin's strengths is quite literally their strength. Most of the squad are tall, powerful players with a degree of physicality that bullied Bengaluru's players all across the pitch and they almost always came out on top in individual duels. Perez was one such unfortunate victim who never got a foothold in the game as a result.
Also read: Chennaiyin's Inigo Calderon proud of two goal-line clearances against Bengaluru FC
And it was another counter-attack that saw Chennaiyin effectively put the game out of reach. With Jeje occupying both the centre-backs, Raphael Augusto crept in behind them and received the pass before curling a well-placed shot past Gurpreet's outstretched hand to make it 3-1.
If the first two goals were about power, this one was all about finesse.
Even at 3-1, when Gregory made substitutions, it wasn't to shut shop. He knew how dangerous they were in the second 45. Prior to the final, Bengaluru had scored 26 of their 38 goals in the second half.
Towards the end of the game, he had brought on players with clear instructions to keep the ball and not lose it while simultaneously running down the clock - which is what Jaime Gavilan and, later, Thoi Singh did.
Miku was still able to score in the 92nd minute but it was too late for the Blues to mount a comeback - giving Chennaiyin a famous win and igniting a new rivalry in India between two of the best clubs in the Indian Super League this season.
