Kerala Blasters 2-1 Bengaluru FC: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis | ISL 2019-20

#3 Bengaluru uncharacteristically indulge in defensive mistakes

Gurpreet allowed Kerala back into the encounter

Before the contest at Kochi, Bengaluru FC had conceded 9 goals from 16 fixtures, meaning that they represented the tightest defensive unit in the land. Thus, plenty expected them to hold their own, thereby making the Blasters work hard for their openings.

On the contrary though, the visitors gifted the hosts a few opportunities and the latter eventually made them pay.

In the first half, the Blues seemed to have things under control as they restricted the Blasters to shots from distance after nudging ahead. However, just on the stroke of the break, Albert Serran mis-controlled a long ball on the edge of the box.

Subsequently, he lunged at the ball to redeem himself, meaning that he hacked down Ogbeche. The latter popped up and struck a fierce drive on goal. The shot, despite being pretty central, somehow squirmed under Gurpreet, thereby awarding the home side the requisite momentum going into the tunnel.

After the break, the visitors seem to cede the initiative to Schattorie’s troops, meaning that the latter then grew from strength to strength. And, to cap off their ascendancy, Kerala won a dubious penalty post some needless shirt-pulling by Serran.

Though the decision seemed a bit harsh, the Spanish defender allowed the referee an opportunity to blow his whistle, despite seemingly having Messi contained inside the box.

The resulting spot kick was converted by Ogbeche as Kerala then propelled themselves to their first-ever victory over Bengaluru FC in the ISL.

For much of the season, the Blues have been spotless in the defensive third. However, more recently, they’ve looked slightly patchy away from home. In fact, against Mumbai City FC too, a couple of defensive errors enabled the Islanders to post a 2-0 victory at the Mumbai Football Arena.

Thus, as the campaign enters its business end, Cuadrat would hope that these games only remain the anomaly, rather than becoming the norm.