Male: ATK Mohun Bagan made a brilliant comeback to beat Maziya Sports & Recreation 3-1 in the Group D encounter of the ongoing AFC Cup at the National on Saturday. On the other hand, Bengaluru FC were shown the exit door after a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh.
Aisam Ibrahim (24th) opened the scoring for Maziya, but the Green and Maroons produced a strong comeback in the second half netting thrice through Liston Colaco (48th), Roy Krishna (64th) and Manvir Singh (77th) to take away the full three points.
Substitute Hugo Boumous provide two assists in the Mariners’ win. The Kolkata giants will next take on Basundhara Kings in the Group D encounter on August 24. with this win, ATKMB rose to the top of the table with six points from two games.
BFC have just a point from their two games and are at third. The former Indian Super League champions, BFC, will play Maziya Sports & Recreation on August 24. The top-placed team in the group will qualify for the Inter-zone playoff semifinals
It's a point apiece in Male, as the Blues play out a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings in their second Group D clash. #BFCvBSK #BluesInAsia pic.twitter.com/2T84mm1ccu
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 21, 2021
Coach Marco Pezzaiuoli opted for three changes in starting lineup following their defeat against ATK Mohun Bagan with Parag Shrivas, Danish Farooq and Bidyashagar Singh replacing Sarthak Golui, Ajay Chhetri and Udanta Singh.
The Blues right from the start created attacking opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net. Bidyashagar had an early chance but saw his effort blocked by rival skipper Topu Barman. The Bangladeshi side didn’t back down as Jonathan Reis tested BFC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu just before the break but the Punjab-lad palmed it away.
Bengaluru kept the attacking endeavor in the second half too as striker Cleiton Silva went close twice but was unable to finish in both times. Basundhara showed superb resilience despite the dominance of their opponents and also managed to keep BFC talisman Sunil Chhetri quiet which proved to be a key factor as both the sides shared spoils.
