As the saying in Bengaluru goes, at the fortress, they hit differently. For the longest time, they played like they wanted to prove a point, in a hurry to showcase something, in a rush to gain control. (More Football News)
Sunil Chhetri's hat-trick helped Bengaluru FC take all three points at the fortress Kanteerava against Kerala Blasters in the ongoing Indian Super League 2024-25
As the saying in Bengaluru goes, at the fortress, they hit differently. For the longest time, they played like they wanted to prove a point, in a hurry to showcase something, in a rush to gain control. (More Football News)
No wonder they did, coming in twisting and turning, consistently producing flashes of attack, and progressing to the final third.
A few Saturdays back, predicting a scoreline like this would have been the norm, but after today, when the sparks turned into flames at a sell-out Kanteerava, many people almost seemed to have been in awe.
Maybe Bengaluru needed this - the feeling of something not going their way before a game, the bit of a push back.
Well, that’s just what they got ahead of the all-important clash against the Kerala Blasters at the Sree Kanteerava.
Can they really walk the talk?
It felt like they waited for oh-let-the-time-come and when it comes, it sure will be show time.
And when they turned out in front of the fans, the drums were beating, the noises were reaching insane decibels.
Bengaluru jerseys were worn - with people of all ages present.
They looked ready, and they barged into the Kerala defense on fourth gear, full of swagger, style, confidence.
At that moment, nothing else mattered. The starting XI, with Renedy Singh in-charge, with Gerard Zaragoza on paternity leave, saw Sunil Chhetri and Ryan Williams earn starts.
The changes paid off dividends straight away, building up patterns of play. Eight minutes into the game, Ryan Williams, moving like a rattlesnake, was causing some serious threat.
Well, the rattlesnake venom was oozing all over, crossed a perfect ball to Chhetri, who rose high and nodded home to make it 1-0.
The football, then turned into a multi-layered modern-day art for the ever faithful, as the fans pleaded to ship it to the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, with Williams, doubling Bengaluru’s lead.
Having spent the majority of the game dominating - or at least the first 50 minutes, the Kerala fans found their voice again after Jesus Jimenez slotted one past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to bring one back.
11 minutes later, Freddy Lallawmawma equalised for the travelling visitors to pile on the pressure, as well as misery on the home side.
However, Bengaluru under pressure at the Kanteerava? They call it fortress for a reason. Hit the long range, cut in through the angles, know your worth, fire it past, and they will come out on top.
Six minutes after the equaliser, Pereyra Diaz slipped a beautiful pass to help Chhetri slot home with aplomb - to give Bengaluru the lead, and the skipper his brace.
In the dying moments of the game, well past the 97th minute, Chettri scored a hattrick to cap off a beautiful night for the hosts as the fans just felt like watching a modern-day Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Vatican City.