That Bengaluru FC would raid the Kerala Blasters territory with a wave of attacks was never in doubt, once the first fifteen minutes drew to a close at the Kanteerava stadium. The Blues bombarded down the flanks with purpose and displayed energy in the middle of the park.

With Sunil Chhetri and Miku leading the way in attack, the Kerala defence had their task cut out. Kerala’s frontline, apart from a brief encouraging spell in the first half on the counter-attack, tapered off. That, of course, had plenty to do with Jackichand Singh being stretchered off the field.

Kerala and the yellow brigade spent much of the second half chasing shadows. With the defeat went the two-time finalists’ chances of finishing in the top-four. Where and how did Bengaluru win this game?

Kerala – the good, bad and ugly

With Dimitar Berbatov out, Kerala had the opportunity to play a quick, counter-attacking game and test Gurpreet Singh Sandhu early. And, they did, creating a glorious goalscoring opportunity as CK Vineeth found space in the box. The delivery was was inch-perfect and all it required was a clean side-foot finish. Alas, Vineeth missed his kick and Bengaluru cleared their lines.

Gudjon Baldvinsson also impressed with his hold-up play at the top of the Kerala attack. But Kerala couldn’t create enough clear-cut chances. Bengaluru’s defence, at this stage, was in a spot of bother but they hardly panicked. Much of Kerala’s verve in the first quarter was down to Jackichand’s energy and trickery on the ball. With him suffering an unfortunate injury, Kerala lost their creativity in the middle of the park.

Playing a 4-3-3, David James’s side needed someone from the middle of the park to dictate the play; a midfielder who could stitch play. Arata Izumi and his mates cut a frustrated figure.

With Miku and Chettri running the show upfront, defenders Wes Brown and Sandesh Jhingan had a torrid evening. Kerala, clearly frustrated, clattered into the opposition with rough tackles.

The Miku and Chhetri show

Miku and the Indian veteran had a telepathic understanding and were playing to each others’ strengths. While Chhetri was running the channels and finding space, Miku was making a menace of himself with his imposing physical presence.

Chhetri created the first big chance of the game with a thumping drive from outside the box. The ball beat Kerala goalie Paul Rachubka’s despairing dive, but fizzed narrowly wide of the post. Chhetri had a couple of other half-chances, which failed to hit the target.

But the goal was imminent. When Miku is on the ball, he drags defenders out of position while Chhetri, with his clever running, finds pockets of space in the box. While the Indian skipper was a frustrating presence in the second half, constantly giving his teammates a barracking for a lack of cohesiveness, he had made an impact.

Strangely, though, Bengaluru found bite in front of goal after Chhetri was substituted.

Persistence pays off

Bengaluru have scored a few late goals in their debut season and once again, they left it late to open a 11-point lead at the top of the table. Kerala’s defence was tired and Albert Roca made a couple of smart moves with the match drawing to a close, injecting pace down the flanks.

Space opened up for the Bengaluru attackers, who were encouraged by a capacity crowd. Miku played a neat one-two, and slotted the ball to the far corner. Udanta soon followed suit with a cracking shot from just outside the box.

Despite the game not being of any significance to them, Bengaluru approached the match wanting to pocket another three points. This hunger and the ability to change a game at any given point is what has made the side complete the most dominant display by any team in the group stages of the competition.