Bengaluru FC rode Naorem Roshan Singh’s brilliant strike to end Kerala Blasters’ 10-game unbeaten run and break into the top-four for the first time this season with a 1-0 win in the Hero Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Sunday.
After a barren first half, Roshan scored a sumptuous free kick in the 56th minute to break the deadlock as the Blues moved to the fourth position having 20 points from 14 games while Kerala remained in third place with 20 points from 12 matches. They lost for the first time since their first game of the season.
Playing after more than two weeks, Kerala looked rusty in the opening exchanges with Bengaluru looking the more threatening side to break the deadlock. Danish Farooq and Prince Ibara came close to scoring but could not keep their efforts on target before Jorge Diaz’s botched clearance hit Sunil Chhetri and almost went in but an alert Nishu Kumar cleared the ball off the line.
Updated points table
| Pos | Club | M | W | D | L | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyderabad FC | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 23 |
| 2 | Jamshedpur FC | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 22 |
| 3 | Kerala Blasters FC | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 20 |
| 4 | Bengaluru FC | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| 6 | Mumbai City FC | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
| 7 | Chennaiyin FC | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | -5 | 18 |
| 8 | Odisha FC | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | -5 | 17 |
| 9 | FC Goa | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | -6 | 14 |
| 10 | NorthEast United FC | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | -10 | 10 |
| 11 | SC East Bengal | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -14 | 9 |
Report by ISL media