Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC sealed their place in the Indian Super League (ISL) final for the second successive year with a 3-0 win over NorthEast United FC in the second leg of the semi-final play-off at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, here on Monday.
Bengaluru were made to work hard by a resilient NorthEast United who were finally outdone by a 72nd minute goal from Miku. Late strikes from Dimas Delgado (87th) and Sunil Chhetri (90+2) followed as Bengaluru overturned the 2-1 defeat in the first leg. The aggregate score read 4-2 in favour of Bengaluru, which will now look to land their first ever ISL title on Sunday.
After a dominant first few minutes by Bengaluru, NorthEast threatened first against the run of play. Federico Gallego nicked the ball off Dimas’s feet and charged at the Bengaluru defence. The Uruguayan fed Juan Mascia into the box who, with just Gurpreet Singh to beat, shot straight at the goalkeeper from a narrow angle.
With NorthEast posing a threat from counter-attacks, Miku missed two glorious chances to score in the space of two minutes. In the 23rd minute, Nishu Kumar delivered a delightful cross into the centre of the box from the left flank but Miku headed it over the bar.
