Can Bengaluru FC defy the odds to win the Super Cup?
10-men Bengaluru FC came from a goal down to beat Mohun Bagan and qualify for the 2nd major final within a space of two months. Riding on Miku's hat-trick, Bengaluru scored four past the Mohun Bagan defence within a space of 30 minutes. Miku's hat-trick was only the 2nd hat-trick of the tournament - Chhetri scored the other hat-trick of the Super Cup against NEROCA in the Quarter Finals.
However, in the final, they will be coming up against a side with whom they haven't done well historically. Of the 9 meetings between both sides in all competitions, Bengaluru FC have only won thrice. To add to that, their only meeting in Cup competitions came in the 2014 Federation Cup, where Bengaluru FC were beaten comprehensively by East Bengal, thanks to Edeh Chidi's brace.
Bengaluru FC this time however, would be banking on their recent form and goal scoring to take them to glory. Bengaluru FC have lost just 1 of their last 21 matches in all competitions coming into this tie, with the only unfortunate loss coming against Chennaiyin FC in the ISL final, where despite taking an early lead, they were beaten by the resilient Marina Machans.
To add to that, they have been in form in the Super Cup, scoring 9 goals, the most by any side in the competition so far. With two hat-tricks - by Chhetri and Miku, in the Super Cup, there is no doubt that goal scoring is something they have in droves.
Interestingly, East Bengal under Khalid Jamil have been disciplined at the back in the Super Cup and haven't conceded a single goal in close to 250 minutes. The only goal they conceded in the Super Cup was back in the Round of 16 against Mumbai City.
With such a tremendous record under their belt, East Bengal would be looking to maintain their strong record against Bengaluru FC intact.