ISL 2018-19: Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City FC - Hits and Flops as 10-man visitors hold Blues

Bengaluru FC were held 1-1 by 10-man Mumbai City FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday.

Udanta Singh struck in the first half off a glancing header to give Bengaluru FC the lead.

However, the Blues were unable to hold onto it as Modou Sougou, Mumbai's top-scorer this season, equaliser just eight minutes later, in the 31st minute, by smartly staying onside.

BFC could have pushed for the winner in the second half as Mumbai were reduced to 10 men, after Sehnaj Singh was sent off for a second booking. BFC enjoyed the numerical advantage for about 39 minutes but failed to make anything out of it.

Mumbai City coach Jorge Costa opted for safety and instructed his players well to see his team through that tumultuous second half and snatch a point from the game.

Here are the hits and flops from the match:

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#5 Udanta Singh (Bengaluru FC) - Hit

The Bengaluru FC winger has three goals in three consecutive home games for Bengaluru FC right now.

And he's loving this run of form, evident from the spark that was visible on his face in his goal celebration.

BFC captain Sunil Chhetri had said that Udanta's first goal in the ISL, which came against Delhi Dynamos, would give him a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.

Udanta marked that goal with a sensational strike against FC Pune City and then struck for the third time in four games against Mumbai on Sunday.

Udanta added a new dimension to his play with that goal. Standing at a height of 5'9'', you generally don't expect Udanta to win aerial duels in the box.

But that's what the young attacker did and he beat the towering Lucian Goian to it, glancing the cross by Rahul Bheke into the bottom-right corner of the net.

After scoring, he raised his hands to ask everyone at the stadium to calm down and then bowed down to Bheke for that assist.

His pace gave Subhasish Bose a tough time at the Mumbai defence and in the second half, Udanta displayed some skill by chipping with the edge of his boot to Kean Lewis to possibly set up a chance for BFC.

#4 Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC) - Flop

Sunil Chhetri (right) of Bengaluru FC vies with Arnold Issoko of Mumbai City (Image Courtesy: ISL)

It's not very often that you see this man on this list but against Mumbai City FC, the Bengaluru FC talisman had an off day - going by his lofty standards.

Chhetri was playing at his preferred position on the left wing but he was unable to be as effective as he usually is against the Islanders.

That was mainly because Mumbai came into this game with a plan against Chhetri. It's more or less the same plan that other teams employ marking him with a physical defender. But perhaps Mumbai had the right kind of man - or people - to stop the Chhetri threat in this game.

Chhetri was given little space to orchestrate moves like the FC Pune City game, which need a late winner from Rahul Bheke. The back four were compact and worked well as a zone to keep Chhetri away from the box.

The one time he did sneak in, towards the end of the game, Chhetri himself faltered. Bheke played him with a neat pass but Chhetri was unable to control it and Lucian Goian, swooping in to nullify the threat, pressured Chhetri to make a mistake.

Goian, with his timely sliding tackles and a commanding presence in the box for Mumbai, helped in containing Chhetri a bit.

Chhetri probably got desperate to get a goal and just before the half time, he failed to spot the unmarked Chencho to the left side of the box.

Chhetri, who was at the right post with an impossible angle to get a goal from, whipped to Amrinder and won a corner instead of passing to Chencho.

Four minutes into the second half, Chhetri saw a drive from the edge of the box pushed off for a corner by Amrinder.

In the 81st minute, Paulo Machado conceded a free-kick at the edge of the box after bringing down Dimas Delgado.

A favourite spot for Chhetri, the BFC captain stepped up to take it. We've all seen him convert those calmly before but this time, the poor take was an easy save for Amrinder Singh.

Chhetri was visibly frustrated at the end of the match. He moved to the dugout to have a sip of water and then went back onto the pitch to applaud the fans.

The frustration is understandable. After all, BFC were playing against 10 men and could not find a winner. For Chhetri, he hasn't found the back of the net in four games and boy does he love to score in each match.

Let's just hope the next one is different.

#3 Modou Sougou (Mumbai City FC) - Hit

Modou Sougou of Mumbai City FC wheels away after scoring against Bengaluru FC (Image Courtesy: ISL)

The Senegalese forward has been the best poacher as well as the fox in the box in the Indian Super League (ISL) so far. He makes those quick runs from the centre of the pitch to get into dangerous positions inside the box.

Making those runs also means that you often get trapped offside and the Bengaluru FC defenders were quite aware of that. Sougou was caught offside four times before he scored the equaliser for Mumbai City, taking his tally to five goals this season.

Sougou improvised on the spot and used his pace to get the better of the BFC defence. He timed his run perfectly to Arnold Issoko's curling cross from right, dropped low to meet the ball and placed it into the bottom-right corner.

It was a beautiful finish by the Senegalese given that he had little space to make the run and only one second to pick his spot.

Just before the half-time, he gave a glimpse of the pace he has, gushing into the box to move to the left post, beyond Juanan, unchallenged. He was clearly giving a lot of trouble to the BFC defenders, who haven't really had to work extra so far in the ISL.

However, he was adjudged offside five more times and should work on that bit about his game.

#2 Sehnaj Singh (Mumbai City FC) - Flop

Sehnaj Singh receiving his second yellow from referee R Venkatesh (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Sehnaj was sent off after receiving a second yellow just six minutes into the second half, handing Mumbai City FC a huge disadvantage.

What do you do when you are a central midfielder trying to control the rhythm of the game against more physical and probably more talented opponents - you fight for every ball that comes your way and protect your defence.

Sehnaj, however, was unable to do justice to that role against Bengaluru FC. Sehnaj arm-twisted his way around the pitch, winning possession by unfair means.

To his bad luck, the referee took notice and warned him the first time just 10 minutes into the game.

Tackles like these won't be tolerated, referee R Venkatesh warned Sehnaj after that foul from behind on Erik Paartalu.

That was Sehnaj's fourth yellow of the season, which meant that he would miss Mumbai City's next match against Kerala Blasters.

Sehnaj was probably aware of that and decided to hit two birds with one stone. He lunged into Dimas Delgado to stop a counter from progressing further in the 51st minute and earned a second booking.

With this, Sehnaj would miss about a half of this game and the entire 90 minutes of the next one. He could be suspended for up to three games now.

The referee had to ward off the protest by his teammates for about two minutes after that second yellow. Fans around the stadium and even the Bengaluru FC coach kept reminding him that he has to be sent off.

Not sure whether the referee was aware of it or not, but he obliged anyway.

It's not Sehnaj's first red card at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Back in November 2015 while playing for the Indian National Football Team, Sehnaj was shown a straight red for clamping Justin Lee of Guam on the foot during a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Unlucky place, perhaps?

#1 Arnold Issoko (Mumbai City FC) - Hit

Arnold Issoko (left) was adjudged the Hero of the Match (Image Courtesy: ISL)

Arnold provided the assist for Mumbai's equaliser but he also set up Modou Sougou for a couple of other chances in the game.

The assist was as important as the conversion as Arnold had to pick the right moment to play out the pass and ensure that Sougou isn't deemed offside.

The attacker registered four key passes later in the game and was a livewire in the midfield for the visitors.

When Mumbai were reduced to 10, Arnold had to drop back and ward off the attack. The numerical disadvantage that his team had somehow did not bother Arnold, who managed to hold his own through the final 30 minutes of the game.