ISL | Chhetri's late equaliser for BFC ends East Bengal's playoffs aspirations

Kolkata: Sunil Chhetri's late equaliser for Bengaluru FC ended East Bengal FC's playoffs aspirations after a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League here on Sunday.

The Blues held an overwhelming 67.9 per cengt of the possession, but needed the added time of the second half to grab a point from the fixture, ending East Bengal FC’s playoff charge.

The Red and Gold Brigade, placed eighth, have 28 points from 23 games now, and could get to a maximum of 31 with one game remaining, which would still fall short of the currently sixth-placed NorthEast United FC (32).

East Bengal FC made a statement start with some telling moves that sparked a livewire inside the Bengaluru FC defensive third.

They particularly found openings on the right side of the Blues' backline, with Naorem Mahesh Singh embarking on an industrious run inside the 18-yard area before squaring the ball for Dimitrios Diamantakos.

The striker dazzled with his impressive footwork and launched a thunderous effort on target that was saved at the centre of the goal by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. That did not deter the East Bengal FC frontline, as they kept exploring dynamic ways to break their way through to get the lead.

The moment came through Saul Crespo, who was determined to find his footing within the penalty area. Saul momentarily lost balance though, but laid a short pass for Raphael Messi Bouli still.

Messi Bouli cut in from the right, and shot from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner in the 11th minute, as Sandhu could not get his hands to the end of the shot.

The home side were however reduced to 10 men at the brink of the half-time whistle as Diamantakos was shown a red card following a feisty challenge. The Blues began optimising this one-man advantage by stretching the East Bengal FC defence through their quick sprints on the flank.

On the 90th minute mark, Nishu Kumar ended up handling the ball while marking Chhetri inside the 18-yard zone. Chhetri assumed spot-kick duties, dispatching the ball into the bottom right corner with thorough composure, earning the draw for the visitors.