Skipper Sunil Chhetri’s penalty within the final minute helped Bengaluru FC maintain a 10-man East Bengal to a 1-1 attract a penultimate spherical ISL-11 match on the Salt Lake Stadium right here on Sunday.
East Bengal established an early lead by way of its Cameroonian ahead Raphael Messi Bouli which was cancelled out within the nick of time by Chhetri.
The outcome noticed Bengaluru FC retain its third spot (38 factors in 23 matches) whereas East Bengal’s playoff probabilities (28 in 23) ended and it remained in eighth place.
In the eleventh minute, Messi Bouli put the host forward with an opportunistic strike because the ball reached him after a duel between East Bengal midfielder Saul Crespo and Bengaluru defender Fanai. East Bengal pierced by way of the Bengaluru defence as soon as once more in the direction of the top of the session however Dimitrios Diamantakos couldn’t put it previous goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu. The Greek striker obtained the marching orders within the added time of the primary interval for head-butting BFC’s Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera.
BFC, trying to find the equaliser, was denied until the ninetieth minute earlier than it was awarded a penalty when East Bengal defender Nishu Kumar was penalised for dealing with the ball. Chhetri transformed it with out fuss.
The outcome: East Bengal 1 (Bouli 11) drew with Bengaluru FC 1 (Chhetri 90-pen).
Published – March 02, 2025 11:34 pm IST
