At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday, Bengaluru FC defeated Mumbai City FC 9-8 on penalties to advance to the Indian Super League (ISL) championship game.
Mehtab Singh missed the opening attempt in a professional shootout with the final score being 2-2 on the overall score. Sandesh Jhingan’s goal propelled BFC to its third League championship by placing the ball in the bottom right corner.
MCFC goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa, who made no less than four outstanding saves, including one off Roy Krishna’s head in the first half of additional time, was unjustly punished by the outcome. However, the evening’s outcome was just compensation for Javi Hernandez, the best performer for BFC on the field.
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In the 10th minute, when BFC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu awkwardly brought down Jorge Pereyra Diaz, MCFC had a chance to score. Greg Stewart, however, wasted the chance with a weak spot-kick.
The visitors paid the price shortly after as Hernandez gave BFC the advantage. N. Sivasakthi deceived Mehtab with a deft turn on the left side before Hernandez headed in a beautiful cross.
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However, after Gurpreet had stopped Rowllin Borges’ initial effort, Bipin Singh of MCFC tucked the ball in from close range to tie the score at halftime. For MCFC, D. Vignesh struck the crossbar from a distance, and Hernandez prompted a strong save from Lachenpa.
The two goalkeepers remained busy after the interval. Lachenpa had to deny Hernandez once more, and Gurpreet deflected a header from Bipin. However, Mehtab tied the game on aggregate on the 66th minute, leaping high to head a corner past Gurpreet at the near post.
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After a few seconds, Hernandez appeared to have Lachenpa beat as he assessed the sharpest of angles, but the MCFC goalkeeper saved it with his fingertips. In the final seconds of regular time, Rahul Bheke had a chance to seal the victory for MCFC, but his glancing header missed.
Pereyra Diaz missed two close, golden opportunities in extra time, and Mourtada Fall came dangerously close to netting an own goal for MCFC. In the end, Bengaluru FC reached the ISL Final for 2022-23 season.
