Chhetri’s last-gasp strike helps Bengaluru win on aggregate, enter the ISL summit clash

Sunil Chhetri, who came on as a substitute, headed in the decisive goal for Bengaluru
| Photo Credit: FSDL/ISL Media

FC Goa won the battle but lost the war, as a 2-1 home win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday was not enough to get past Bengaluru FC, which qualified for the Indian Super League 2024-25 final by a 3-2 aggregate scoreline. Borja Herrera and Armando Sadiku found the net for the Gaurs, while Sunil Chhetri scored the all-important goal for the Blues.

The opener came in the 49th minute from a free kick after Sivasakthi Narayanan brought down Ayush Chhetri just outside the box, though the Goa players were certain the contact came inside the penalty area. Borja made no mistake as he rifled the ball into the net past an outstretched Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Though the Gaurs came close on a couple of occasions, they left it late in the second-half to grab the equaliser. Akash Sangwan found Armando Sadiku with an excellent cross from the left flank, and the Albanian made no mistake in heading the ball past Gurpreet to bring his team back into the match.

With the match poised to go into extra-time, it was Sunil Chhetri who delivered for the Blues. Deep in second-half of additional time, Namgyal Bhutia’s cross found second-half substitute Chhetri, who rattled the net with a diving header to seal the win.

It was a defensive masterclass from Bengaluru and another clinical performance from Gerard Zaragoza’s men, who had only two shots on target and converted one of them to qualify for the final.

Bengaluru will play the winner of the second semifinal between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Jamshedpur FC in the summit clash.

The result: FC Goa 2 (Borja 49, Sadiku 88) bt Bengaluru FC 1 (Chhetri 90+2). Bengaluru won 3-2 on aggregate.