Five takeaways from Bengaluru FC's 3-0 win over Mumbai FC.
The rivalry
Bengaluru FC only made it into the I-League in 2013, but they have already built up quite a rivalry against Mumbai FC, and therein hangs a tale. The first season's games for the eventual champions were played at the Bangalore Football Stadium, a ground where the stands are much closer to the playing field than at the Kanteerava Stadium, where BFC have been playing since 2015. BFC's raucous supporters, never known to hold back with their slogans and one-liners, apparently took umbrage to then-MFC coach Khalid Jamil complaining to the fourth official about the abuse being directed his way in the 2013-14 season. It didn't help that a year later, their I-League match at Kanteerava featured an empty water bottle hurled at Jamil and a post-match fracas between some supporters and a Mumbai player. The football between these clubs has also been intense, with the first results only coming in last year, when both teams won their home games. The match on Wednesday saw the first participation between rival coaches Albert Roca and Santosh Kashyap, though, and it would be harsh to credit the former's tactical superiority for the biggest margin of victory in matches between these clubs, when the latter took to the field with a much greener side.
Old friends, gold friends
They had a few young faces in their squad, but there were lots of familiar names within the Mumbai FC team, especially for their adversaries on the night. Pratik Chowdhary was given the task of marking CK Vineeth, and the two had just been chasing the dream of winning the ISL title in front of a capacity home crowd at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi for the Kerala Blasters exactly a month ago to the day. Siam Hanghal and Thoi Singh were among the starters for Mumbai who were returning to their old stomping ground, with Karan Sawhney among the reserves. Mumbai coach Santosh Kashyap -- a much loved man in Bengaluru for having brought aggressive yet sporting teams like Rangdajied United, Royal Wahingdoh and Salgaocar to this city in the past -- had to strategise against his former Rangdajied captain Eugeneson Lyngdoh very well. And finally, rival captains Steven Dias and Sunil Chhetri were integral parts of Bob Houghton's Indian team between 2006 and 2011 and know each other's game inside out, perhaps a reason they were able to keep each other quiet through the 60 minutes that Dias was on the pitch.
The bulwark on the night
It was CK Vineeth with the hat-trick, but Harmanjot Khabra provided some superb service for Roca on the night. Khabra was omnipresent in the game, dousing out fires with his calm presence at right-back, moving into attack and nearly scoring in the 43rd minute with a powerful header. However, it was in creating space and room on the right flank that Khabra played a huge role in freeing up Udanta Singh to move into more central positions. It was from the right that Khabra provided two perfectly-measured balls that allowed Vineeth to score the second and third of his goals. As Vineeth wheeled away in exultation, Khabra pumped his fists and then was the first greeted by Lenny Rodrigues.
The tactical battle
On paper, Bengaluru FC lined up in Roca's favoured 4-3-3, but it translated more into a 4-1-4-1 once he saw the rival strategy of packing the side in the midfield. Vineeth was left as the lone striker, Chhetri dropped wide on one side and Udanta on the other, with Cameron Watson standing firm in front of the back four. Nishu Kumar and Khabra were much more active than their opposing full-backs Reagan Singh and Shallum Pires, but that was expected. Mumbai's work rate in the first half was admirable, though, with the likes of Dias, Thoi, Hanghal and Victorino Fernandes chasing down everything. The first goal they conceded came in injury time of first half and perhaps took the sting out of the fight they had put up to that point.
The press that turned the game completely
It is to Roca's credit that he picked up on a vital cue from the first half. Mumbai FC had worked very hard and chased everything within range. Their strikers often dropped deep to help out in defence, with anywhere up to six players inside the box when defending. In the second half, Bengaluru pressed their opponents every time Mumbai had the ball. Kashyap's team didn't appear prepared for this sudden shift in gear from the hosts. Ironically, it was a tactic that they themselves had used to good effect over the weekend away to Churchill Brothers. Perhaps it was the mental and physical fatigue of a second game on the road that led to some errors on the ball from Mumbai. All that mattered in the end was that Bengaluru FC continued to maintain clean sheets in big home wins just like Mohun Bagan. The chase begins now, though, with both of the top teams setting about their first away games this weekend.