Bengaluru FC’s Sunil Chhetri in action .
| Photo Credit: ANI
Skipper Sunil Chhetri’s penalty in the last minute helped Bengaluru FC hold a 10-man East Bengal to a 1-1 draw in a penultimate round ISL-11 match at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.
East Bengal established an early lead through its Cameroonian forward Raphael Messi Bouli which was cancelled out in the nick of time by Chhetri.
The result saw Bengaluru FC retain its third spot (38 points in 23 matches) while East Bengal’s playoff chances (28 in 23) ended and it remained in eighth place.
In the 11th minute, Messi Bouli put the host ahead with an opportunistic strike as the ball reached him after a duel between East Bengal midfielder Saul Crespo and Bengaluru defender Fanai. East Bengal pierced through the Bengaluru defence once again towards the end of the session but Dimitrios Diamantakos couldn’t put it past goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu. The Greek striker received the marching orders in the added time of the first period for head-butting BFC’s Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera.
BFC, searching for the equaliser, was denied till the 90th minute before it was awarded a penalty when East Bengal defender Nishu Kumar was penalised for handling the ball. Chhetri converted it without fuss.
The result: East Bengal 1 (Bouli 11) drew with Bengaluru FC 1 (Chhetri 90-pen).
Published – March 02, 2025 11:34 pm IST