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A superb strike from Miku, a tap-in by Dimas Delgado and a Sunil Chhetri formality helped Bengaluru FC go past NorthEast United in their ISL semifinal and confirm their berth in the Indian Super League (ISL) final.
Miku's second-half goal helped Bengaluru go 1-0 up at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium against NorthEast United. While that goal would have been enough to take them through on an away goal, Dimas Delgado finished a move that was started at the other end by Udanta Singh to comfortably seal the spot in the final.
Sunil Chhetri piled the misery on NorthEast by slotting past Pawan Kumar in a one-on-one situation.
After losing the first 2-1 in Guwahati, Bengaluru were 3-0 winners on Monday to qualify 4-2 on aggregate.
The match had its share of drama and unfortunate incidents. Miku missed a flurry of chances early on before finally slotting past NorthEast goalkeeper Pawan Kumar in the 72nd minute.
NorthEast were dealt a blow when Federico Gallego suffered an injury early in the second half and had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Bengaluru felt they were denied a penalty in the 77th minute when Keegan Pereira forcibly stopped Udanta Singh in the box. But they won't mind as they are sure to play at the Mumbai Football Arena this Sunday against either FC Goa or Mumbai City.
Considering that Goa beat Mumbai City 5-1 in the first leg, it's most probably going to be Bengaluru v Goa in the ISL final this Sunday.
Before that, here's what was most talked about at the Kanteerava on Monday:
Bengaluru and their second leg fortunes
There was a big question mark over whether Bengaluru would be able to fight back in the second leg.
But it wasn't the first time that Bengaluru had their backs up against the wall.
Bengaluru made the AFC Cup final in 2016 with a 3-1 second leg win over Johor Darul Ta'zim after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Malaysia. In the ISL semifinals last year, they were unable to get an away goal against Pune City but at the Kanteerava, they secured a berth in the final with a 3-1 victory.
Even against Tampines Rovers in the AFC Cup 2016 quarterfinal, they defended a one-goal advantage in Singapore and progressed.
It's definitely not a simple task to put up a second leg performance when the odds are turned against a side but for Bengaluru, it seems to be in their DNA to fight until the very end. The first half didn't go Bengaluru's way but they made up for it with a gritty second-half show and got the much-needed goal and victory.
The one time it didn't pan out as they expected was against Altyn Asyr in the AFC Cup 2018, coach Carles Cuadrat's first game in charge, where they lost 2-3 at home and 0-2 away.
Nothing like the Fortress for Bengaluru
The build-up to this game was all about Bengaluru's impressive record at home this season. Apart from being unbeaten in nine matches prior to this game, Bengaluru had also scored 15 goals at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Coach Carles Cuadrat called up to the fans to not let the Kanteerava stay silent even for a minute. Bengaluru even got their former coach Albert Roca back for this game and he egged the Blues on from the stands.
Cuadrat stressed on the importance of the fans at the end of the first leg by saying:
"It's nice that NorthEast United have fans all over the country. I am sure many of them will come to watch them in Bengaluru. But we play at the Fortress."
The Bengaluru faithful, West Block Blues, heeded to the call and came in ready. They unveiled a special tifo before the start of the game, which played a reference to the King in the North from Game of Thrones, just that Bengaluru are supposed to be the King in the South.
All that and more created an electric atmosphere at the Kanteerava, which pushed Bengaluru to go that extra yard and make the final.
Can the King in the South be the King of the nation? Sunday will tell.
Gallego's injury
Around the 53rd minute, Miku was sent through by Xisco Hernandez and he cut in for some space in the box. NorthEast's Federico Gallego and Mato Grgic both went hard on that tackle but unfortunately, Gallego paid a price for it and ended his season with NEUFC.
Gallego broke his leg while hitting the shin of Miku and the referee instantly called for the ambulance. The NorthEast attacker, who has been vital in his team's run in the ISL this season.
Even in this game against BFC, Gallego and Juan Mascia kept the show going for NorthEast and did not make it easy for the Bengaluru defenders.
Two of Gallego's four goals came against Bengaluru and he even did well in the first leg to pull off that 2-1 win.
The ambulance was called into the pitch for the first time this season. Nobody wishes for it of course but that's football.
NorthEast already had midfielder Rowllin Borges out for this game. Their talismanic striker Bartholomew Ogbeche played only 45 minutes in the first leg after pulling his hamstring and only made the bench this time.
His exit gave Bengaluru the opportunity to push further up and get that win.
Miku compensates for missed chances
Miku has been an invaluable asset for Bengaluru but when the time came for him to step up, he kind of stepped back, at least in the first half.
Miku missed twin chances in the first half-hour, probably ones that he should have easily put away. First was the cross by Nishu Kumar from the left in the 22nd minute, which Miku headed wide. Just two minutes later, Udanta cut it back from the right for Miku at the centre but the Venezuelan forward hit the first-time flick above the bar.
The miss that he would be really unhappy about happened 10 minutes later.
He stunned the NorthEast defence with a mazy run that stifled 3 players at least. Three done and almost near the penalty spot, he turned for space and left Janeiler Rivas shellshocked with the move. With just the goalkeeper left to beat, he took it easy and that left-foot shot fizzled out.
Bengaluru could have progressed with a simple 1-0 win and it was important for them to get that goal early.
Then came the second-half and Miku was adamant to get Bengaluru in the final. Udanta Singh played a cross from the right. Miku shifted to move ahead of his marker Mato Grgic and flicked it to the far post with his left leg, a sublime finish.
Bengaluru entering ISL final as favourites?
Sure, FC Goa have been unstoppable and it's probably their ISL title to lose but just by considering the matches between Bengaluru and FC Goa, Bengaluru enter Mumbai as the favourites for the ISL final.
Goa have lost both their league stage matches against Bengaluru and it took a special Miku performance in the second half to get a 3-0 win, the match that settled Bengaluru on top of the table.
Goa are currently in the front seat to make the final because of their 5-1 away win against Mumbai City. However, anything can happen in football and if Mumbai defy the odds and make it to the final, Bengaluru have to be wary.
The Mumbai City defence has given Bengaluru problems and they couldn't find a way past them at the Mumbai Football Arena in January, the match that ended their 11-game unbeaten run.
Forget their opponents Goa or Mumbai for one second. Just the second-half performance against Eelco Schattorie's NEUFC could be enough to justify their favourites tag.
Bengaluru missed out on winning the ISL final last time around, losing to Chennaiyin FC at the Sree Kanteerava. However, they seem to be determined to go the stretch this season and the quality of their performances has shown.
