Ratings: Bengaluru FC's Alan Costa scores, NEUFC attackers flatter to deceive

The Highlanders' Romain Philippoteaux gained traction, courtesy his trickery in the middle of the park.

Simon Grayson's debut ISL campaign started off with Bengaluru FC beating NorthEast United 1-0 at the Sri Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday. The Englishman's side were more effective on counters and had to weather dangerous attacks by Marco Balbul's Highlanders. Emil Benny, Romain Philippoteaux and Ion Gaztanaga all threatened before Bengaluru FC started getting on the end of some moves. The first-half ended all square as Gaurav Bora put in a splendid shift to contain the otherwise explosive Sivasakthi and the other Blues' attackers.

As the curtain rose for the second-half, NorthEast United seemed to shift up a few gears as they engineered some jaw-dropping moves to get into Bengaluru's box. On more than one occasion, Alan Costa, Prabir Das and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu foiled those efforts as they kept their team in the game. It all paid off in the 86th minute as Roshan Singh steered in a laser-guided cross towards Costa from a corner which the big Brazilian headed into the Highlanders' net. Then it just boiled down to keeping their shape compact and upsetting Balbul's boys which they did seamlessly.

With that, let us take a look at Khel Now's ratings for the players' performances:

Bengaluru FC (By Riddhiman Sarkar)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu - 6.5

The towering Indian international was called into action late in the second half as he pulled off a splendid save from a shot deflected off Alan Costa to deny the Highlanders. He was saved of the hassle of having to give up his clean sheet after Gazatanaga’s wonder goal was disallowed for an offside offence.

Alan Costa - 8

Costa was the brightest and biggest of all three Bengaluru FC centre-backs as he performed his covering centre-back duties extremely well. He won all four of his aerial duels and scored Bengaluru’s late opener deep into the second-half from a swivelling Roshan Singh delivery.

Sandesh Jhingan - 6.5

Jhingan played in more of a sweeper role as he made five clearances and was a vital part of Bengaluru’s dogged defensive compactness. 

Aleksandar Jovanovic - 6

While the Australian was accurate with his passing (88% completion rate), he made only one tackle compared to being dribbled past twice. After a rather disappointing outing, Jovanovic was taken off in the 73rd minute for Udanta to enter the fray and allow Bengaluru to add numbers to attack. 

Prabir Das - 7

Das revelled in the right wing-back role as he bombed up and down. He was as dangerous taking on players and putting in crosses as he was while making up ground and recovering with tackles. The 28-year-old came off in the 92nd minute for Parag Srivas after completing two of his four attempted crosses and creating one big chance.

Suresh Singh Wangjam - 6

Not the best of nights for the tireless midfielder whence he failed to produce significant attacking or defensive output in a vital two-man midfield. Suresh only completed 69% of his passes and won one out of six ground duels as he was replaced by Jayesh Rane in the 63rd minute. 

Bruno Ramires - 6.5

Ramires saw a little less of the action as Bengaluru FC’s wing overloads meant he was more involved in blocking passing lanes rather than engaging the attackers. He finished the game with one interception, one tackle and two clearances.

Naorem Roshan Singh - 7.5

Roshan was both solid at the back and equally adept at beating players while on the move up front. His best contribution came in the 86th minute as he floated in a wondrous cross towards the hulking Alan Costa, who in return thumped in Bengaluru’s opener. The 23-year-old attempted eight crosses, completed both of his take-ons and won a whopping six out of his nine ground duels. 

Sunil Chhetri - 6.5

The legendary Indian striker did not exactly hit the ground running as he missed some gilt-edged chances. There is a lot of work to do for Chhetri if he is to better his expected goals tally from the number of shots (5) he took.  

Roy Krishna - 6

Krishna looked a mere shadow of his clinical self as he couldn’t provide the cutthroat accuracy that he is feared for. He completed two of his three take-ons as he harrowed defenders but had his lone shot go off target. The Fijian seemed visibly frustrated as he was subbed off for Javi Hernandez in the 63rd minute.

Sivasakthi Narayan - 7

Unselfish and energetic, the young Indian livewire was all over the field making lung-bursting sprints to link up the attack and chase down final balls. He got one shot blocked and completed one of his two take-ons as he was the perfect attacker on the field.  

Substitutes 

Javi Hernandez - 6

Javi tried to thread a few intelligent passes but lingered on the ball way too much. He did not have the desired effect as he finished the match with one key pass and a 67% pass completion rate.  

Jayesh Rane - 6

Rane finest contribution to the game was his low-driven shot off a good passage of play from the Blues which eventually went off-target. He was mostly uninvolved as he got a mere nine touches on the ball.

Udanta Singh - 6.5

Maybe an earlier introduction would have allowed Udanta to settle in more since he got hold of the ball only five times. Despite completing only two passes, one of them was a key pass and his role this evening was more of an active runner to open up spaces for other players.

Parag Shrivas - N/A

Shrivas Replaced Prabir Das deep into stoppage time and saw out the match without having to do a lot.

NorthEast United FC (By Yash Pratap Singh)

Arindam Bhattacharya - 6.0

The veteran keeper looked solid for the majority of the game. He saved a couple of good attempts from the hosts, but it was his mistake that led to Bengaluru FC’s opening goal.

Mohamad Irshad - 7.0

Irshad operated as a right-back in the opening game and wasn’t bad at all. He made bombing runs forward and also defended well. However, his shift was cut short due to a cramp.

Gaurav Bora - 7.5

Bora was solid at the heart of the defence alongside his skipper. He kept Chhetri and co at bay. The 24-year-old was high on confidence and was excellent with his ball distribution.

Michael Jakobsen - 7.5

The skipper played with his heart on his sleeve. He led by an example and made sure his side maintained their shape at all times. Moreover, he made five clearances and three blocks.

Gurjinder Kumar - 7.0

The left-back delivered yet another consistent performance. He shifted between the both halves of the pitch and adjusted himself according to the situation. Gurjinder made one interception and was decent with his passing.

Emanuel - 7.0

The young lad put up a good show on his ISL debut for the Highlanders. He maintained a fierce rivalry in the middle of the park with Suresh Singh Wangjam and others. He also won the majority of his ground duels.

Jon Gazatanaga - 7.5

The Spaniard got unlucky as he had a goal ruled out, a decision which stands debatable. He was dictating play in the middle of the park for the away side and combined well with Romain Philippoteaux on many occasions.

Emil Benny - 5.0

Benny’s ISL debut was cut short due to a forced substitution in the 37th minute as he succumbed to an injury. He didn’t look his best while he was on the pitch.

Romain Philippoteaux - 8.0

The Frenchman was the livewire and undoubtedly the best player on the pitch for the Highlanders. He brought his tricks of magic and kept BFC on their toes all the time. Roman also completed five out of his five dribbles. 

Matt Derbyshhire - 6.5

The Englishman had a tough outing on his ISL debut. He was mostly kept out of action by the Blues’ defense. However, Derbyshire did pull off two clearances and a block and a tackle each.

Jithin MS - 7.0

He did everything well, but his finishing let him down everytime. Jithin was a constant threat to BFC and Prabir Das in particular on the left flank as he troubled the Blues with his pace and trickery.

Substitutes

Gani Nigam - 6.5

He came on in the first-half as a replacement for Emil Benny. Gani maintained a good passing accuracy of 83%, but gave away the ball many times and even conceded silly fouls.

Parthib Gogoi - 6.5

The young lad could’ve had an outing to remember only if luck was on his side. Gogoi hit the crossbar once in the dying minutes of the game, but to his bad luck, the ball bounced back into play. Romain Philippoteaux ultimately shot the ball wide.

Pragyan Gogoi - 6.5

Gogoi tested Gurpreet Singh Sandhu with a low left footed attempt moments after coming on. He won the majority of his ground duels.

Imran Khan - N/A

Imran played just eight minutes and couldn’t make much of an impact.

Aaron Evans - N/A

The big Aussie came on late in the second-half and it was his throw in that led to NEUFC's disallowed goal.