Mohun Bagan Super Giants are into the final! Today at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Mohun Bagan SG secured their victory against Bengaluru FC and reached the 133rd Durand Cup final with a 4-3 tie-breaker result. What a comeback win! Bengaluru FC was leading by two goals, but just before the last quarter, Mohun Bagan SG broke the deadlock.
Both teams started the match with an attacking force. However, as time passed, Bengaluru FC seemed more aggressive. Mohun Bagan SG attempted some counterattacks, but Bengaluru FC’s defense was very compact. In the midfield, Alberto failed to intercept the ball, and Sunil Chhetri quickly made a run with it, entering the box and creating a one-on-one situation with the MBSG keeper. However, Vishal managed to stop Chhetri’s shot. It was a golden chance for Bengaluru FC.
42nd minute, Liston Colaco committed a foul on Vinith Venkatesh inside the box, and the referee awarded a penalty. Sunil Chhetri scored the opening goal for Bengaluru FC from that penalty. In the 45th minute, Liston took a low shot from the left flank towards the near post, but it was deflected by the post after Gurpreet’s touch. Mohun Bagan SG got a corner, Petratos delivered a center into the box unmarked Alberto took a header but again got deflected by the crossbar.
In the 51st minute of the second half, Bengaluru FC scored their second goal. Due to a misunderstanding, Vishal Kaith was out of position, and Vinith Venkatesh placed the ball into the net with the goal wide open. After conceding two goals, Mohun Bagan SG started playing high-pressing football, trying to find their equalizer. In the 68th minute, Manvir Singh was roughly tackled inside the box by a Bengaluru FC player, resulting in a penalty. Petratos took the penalty kick and broke the deadlock for Mohun Bagan SG.
In the 84th minute, Mohun Bagan SG earned a corner, which was cleared out of the box. The cleared ball fell to Anirudh Thapa outside the box, and he took a powerful long shot, scoring the much-awaited equalizer for Mohun Bagan SG. After the change in the scoreline, Bengaluru FC shifted to a defensive strategy with a compact formation. The match went to a penalty shootout as neither team could take the lead before the final whistle.
Mohun Bagan Converted the first four penalty shots, as Halicharan Narzary’s shot got saved by Vishal Kaith. Greg Stewart came to took the fifth kick for Mohun Bagan SG and got saved by Gurpreet Sandhu, but Kaith managed to stop Jovanovic’s shot, to send the defending champion into the Durand Cup 2024 finals.
