Updated Points Table: Bengaluru FC's 7-game winning streak takes them to 4th in the ISL 2022-23 standings
In quite the head-scratcher, once-struggling Bengaluru FC handed table-toppers Mumbai City FC their first defeat of the ISL 2022-23 season. The Blues scripted a toiling 2-1 victory at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, February 15.
The three points have allowed Bengaluru FC to leapfrog ATK Mohun Bagan and take the fourth spot in the league standings. The Blues were once groveling in the ninth spot but are now favorites to make it through to the knockouts.
Simon Grayson's team will next face FC Goa in their final game of the league stage and will need at least a point to confirm a top-six finish.
Meanwhile, the result was largely insignificant for Mumbai City FC, who have already won the ISL League Shield. But their hopes of going invincible in the 2022-23 season were squashed by Bengaluru FC.
The Islanders will face East Bengal in their final match of the league stage and will be hoping to return to winning ways before the knockout stage commences.
Bengaluru FC gathering momentum as the business end of the ISL 2022-23 season arrives
We have often seen late-bloomers in the ISL, teams who come to their right at the end of the season and create havoc. Bengaluru FC's recent form has probably rivaled or eclipsed the teams from the past who have shown such a phenomenon.
After winning the Durand Cup, there was a lot of hope pinned on the Blues to take the ISL by storm. But Bengaluru FC looked largely incoherent under Simon Grayson and ended up slipping down the league standings. They once narrowly held on to the ninth spot.
However, since the turn of the year, Bengaluru FC have looked like a rejuvenated outfit and are yet to drop a single point in 2023. They have won seven matches on the trot and another win could seal a knockout berth for the former ISL champions.