GUWAHATI, INDIA: Ostensibly, it may appear to the lay Indian Super League (ISL) fan that NorthEast United FC goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh was the villain in their 1-1 draw with Bengaluru FC on Friday, October 30. While it is true that Gurmeet’s poor handling gave Bengaluru the chance to equalise in stoppage time, it will be doing the Blues a huge injustice by saying that this was the sole reason.
The truth is that Bengaluru FC appeared close to breaching NorthEast’s defence all evening, but it was only after Jithin MS had given the hosts the lead in the 15th minute that they were truly spurred into action. A fancy sparring battle of give-and-take ensued between the two sides, with Juan Pedro Benali’s men trusting their midfielders and fullbacks to nullify Bengaluru’s attempts from the flanks.
A tactical breakdown of this clash between the then-first and third-ranked sides of the ISL makes it clear that while NorthEast were on the ascendancy for all ninety minutes, Bengaluru FC were never truly out of the encounter. Pep Munoz’s men were merely waiting for a chance to express themselves, and with the arrival of Sunil Chhetri in the second half, they were propelled to greater heights.
NorthEast United led Bengaluru FC for 75 minutes, but without conviction
The numbers tell most of this story: Bengaluru FC had 64% of the ball while NorthEast United had 36% of it. The Blues were more dominant in the second half, when they had 66% possession and took three of their overall five shots on target. The visitors also made more penetrations into the final third than their opponents, making 32 touches in the NorthEast United box.
In comparison, the Highlanders made just 17 touches inside the Bengaluru box. The statistic that speaks volumes is that their NorthEast United created no big chances at all, and it would have been a travesty had the game ended in their favour. While the draw came off a weak moment of decision-making from Gurmeet, the fact that Bengaluru were better than their opponents was never in doubt.
It is seen that clubs that complete more passes tend to win more ISL games, and it is here that Bengaluru drew apart from NorthEast United by a huge margin. They completed more than twice as many passes as their opponents (415 to 203), and ended with 86% accuracy. 220 of these passes were in the NorthEast United half; the Blues also completed 35 long balls at an accuracy of 64%.
Bengaluru FC have usually opted for younger fullbacks this ISL season
Munoz began with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Young fullbacks Ricky Meitei and Shivaldo Singh, chosen specifically to drive up the pitch as additional attackers and selected over the more experienced Nikhil Poojary and Roshan Singh, repaid the faith shown in them, with the former making the most touches (81) and the latter completing 30 out of 31 passes at a godlike accuracy of 91%.
Meitei and Shivaldo, when Bengaluru were in possession, acted as de facto wingers for their side, while those originally selected for the role, Ashique Kuruniyan and Soham Varshneya, dropped into the more traditional inside-left and inside-right positions, respectively. Varshneya’s silky first touches allowed Meitei to drive past him, and the former also helped out by creating two critical chances.
Such pace and movement on the flanks could not have been achieved without midfielders Lalremtluanga Fanai and Manuel De Iriondo positioning themselves well. In this ISL game, Fanai remained stable enough to play in a conventional box-to-box position when Bengaluru were in possession, while the Argentine acted as the third central defender between Chinglensana Singh and Menno Koch.
Ryan Williams’ off-the-ball play cannot be neglected
With their midfield and defence thus secured, Bengaluru FC’s attackers Ryan Williams and Borja Martinez were given a free hand to weave in and out of NorthEast United’s box in this ISL clash. The former, as is his wont, drew defenders Eneko Sastregui and Pramveer out of their positions with his alluring off-the-ball play. This allowed Martinez to create the most chances (4) and have the most touches inside the Highlanders‘ box (7).
Varshneya was substituted in the second half, and Chhetri was brought on. This slightly altered Bengaluru FC’s shape: Williams dropped to the flank vacated by the 22-year-old while the veteran striker, who has scored more goals than anyone in the ISL (67), offered his wares centrally. Eventually, it was Chhetri’s vision that gave fellow substitute Vinith Venkatesh the ball to put into NorthEast United’s empty net.
Williams’ contribution to this Bengaluru FC draw cannot be neglected, largely because of the way he engaged the NorthEast defenders and operated smoothly in one-two situations at first with Martinez, and later with Chhetri. It must also be remembered that it was his cross that precipitated Gurmeet’s slip. This draw ensured that Bengaluru stayed unbeaten in the ISL, but their visit to Margao to meet FC Goa on November 6 will have a big say in their fortunes this season.
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Cover image courtesy: X/BengaluruFC
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