ISL 2023: Bengaluru FC Beat ATK Mohun Bagan To Enter Top 6 As Race For Playoff Spots Heats Up

After defeating ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League on Sunday at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata, Bengaluru FC regained sixth spot. Javi Hernandez scored the game's first goal in the 77th minute, and Roy Krishna added a second goal in stoppage time to secure the 2-1 victory. The Blues had won five straight games before to this one. Ashique Kuruniyan and Hugo Boumous, who were banned, were replaced by Liston Colaco and Federico Gallego, forcing Juan Ferrando to make two changes. Simon Grayson kept his starting lineup the same. The Bengaluru FC backline was on hand to stop the hosts' efforts to go into the final third despite the hosts controlling possession in the first half. Hernandez's effort from the edge of the box for Bengaluru FC's opening opportunity narrowly missed the crossbar. With dangerous passes in and a few attempts on goal, right-back Asish Rai was active down the right flank. Rai fired one from a distance of roughly 30 yards in the 20th minute. Before Gurpreet Singh Sandhu dived in to palm it behind, his twisting and dipping attempt at the near post was headed towards the bottom corner. Rai almost gave Bengaluru FC a goal on the break at the opposite end. Around the halfway point, Rai made a mistake that allowed Krishna to let Siva Narayanan through on goal against the flow of play. 

Before the young assailant could do any damage, Vishal Kaith halted him as he charged towards the edge of the box. Two minutes into the second half, Krishna and Narayanan teamed up once more as the former's layoff found Narayanan, whose volley was critically stopped by Subhasish Bose.In the last period of the game, Kaith's punched ball found the youthful Bengaluru FC attacker, giving him another chance. Up until the 77th minute, when the tie was ultimately broken, neither team had much success in their attempts to enter the opposing team's territory. Hernandez fired a powerful volley past Kaith's extended left hand after Roshan Naorem floated the ball towards the outside of the ATK Mohun Bagan penalty area.Pablo Perez entered the game to help Krishna score in the first minute of stoppage time after Hernandez had opened the scoring in the 77th minute. Kaith's errant effort to collect a cross had allowed Krishna a simple tap-in. In the 93rd minute, Dimitri Petratos' effort from outside the area deflected off Alan Costa and sailed past Sandhu just as the Blues believed their task was over. There wasn't enough time, though, to further annoy Bengaluru FC. Bengaluru FC will continue this energy into their upcoming match against Kerala Blasters on February 11 after moving up to sixth place once again. When ATK Mohun Bagan visits Jamshedpur FC next on February 9, they'll be eager to go back to winning.