ISL 2017/18: 'I believe we won the league, we are the champions', Bengaluru FC's Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

Bengaluru FC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu believes that his team won the league even though they lost the ISL final to Chennaiyin FC.

"It was an unexpected result for us, I didn't care much about the golden glove. Subrata deserved it. I want to say thank you to the fans, I also want to congratulate Chennaiyin for the win but I believe we won the league. We are the champions," Gurpreet said after the match.

The Blues were the most dominant side throughout the league stage, winning 13 of their 18 matches. The Sunil Chhetri-led side lost only four and drew one as they finished top of the table with 40 points in their debut season in the league.

In the semi-final, Bengaluru swept aside FC Pune City 3-1 over two legs to make their way into the finals as Chhetri scored a brilliant hat-trick. On the other half of the draw, Chennaiyin progressed to the final by beating FC Goa 4-1 on aggregate, courtesy of a superb brace from Jeje Lalpekhlua in the second leg.

The two sides played an intense final but in the end, it was Chennaiyin who emerged victorious. After Chhetri had put the Blues forward in the 9th minute, Chennaiyin reacted quickly. Mailson Alves equalised for the away team with a towering header. Then, right before half-time, the Brazilian defender scored from yet another header.

In the second half, Brazilian midfielder Raphael Augusto scored the third goal for Chennaiyin which virtually put Bengaluru out of the match. However, Bengaluru, backed by a vociferous home support, tried to make a late comeback. A penalty shout was denied when Nishu Kumar was brought down inside the box. Miku went on to reduce the deficit in injury time, but by then it was too late.