Bengaluru FC: From The Worst Season In Club History
To Another Title Challenge
Bengaluru FC entered the 10th season of the Indian Super League on a high, fresh off an appearance in the final. Despite some key departures, expectations were high coming into ISL 10 but to say the season was a disaster would be an understatement.
Bengaluru FC failed to even make the playoffs, finishing 10th in the standings, the lowest finish in their history. They could only muster 22 points and were a mess both offensively and defensively. Simon Grayson lost his job midway through the campaign as a result but even Gerard Zaragoza’s arrival as his replacement didn’t change their fortunes. They finished the season having failed to win even once away from home and their home form was nothing to write home about either, as they won just 5 of 11 games.
Then after the season, BFC saw the inspirational Javi Hernandez depart but did manage to bring in the likes of Alberto Noguera, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Edgar Mendez, and Rahul Bheke. It didn’t seem as if they had done enough to potentially mount another title challenge, but that’s exactly what has happened.
Bengaluru FC find themselves at second in the standings with 27 points from 13 games. They have already exceeded their points tally from ISL 10 and are the biggest threat to defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant at this point. So, how exactly have things turned around? Well, let’s take a look.
For starters, the attack has performed far better than it did last season. BFC averaged 0.9 goals per game in ISL 10, which ranked 11th. That’s gone up to 2.1 in ISL 10, which ranks second. Sunil Chhetri’s resurgence is a big reason for it, as he has gone from 5 goals last season to 9 already in this. Ryan Williams (8 goal involvements), Mendez (7 goal involvements), and Pereyra Diaz (5 goal involvements) have also stepped up on various occasions and together, they form one of the deeper offensive units in the ISL.
Their efforts along with that of the midfield trio of Noguera, Pedro Capo, and Suresh Wangjam have led to a transformation in terms of the team going forward in this campaign.
Having the best conversion rate in the league is a huge positive but the question is can they keep this up? With the form their attackers are in, they just might.
Bengaluru FC have also found different ways to score this season compared to the last. They did not score a single set-piece goal in ISL 10 (excluding penalties) but already have 5 this time around.
On defense, meanwhile, BFC have had quite a bizarre season. They started off with clean sheets in each of their first five games, with the likes of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Rahul Bheke putting in some impressive performances.
Since then, however, they have gone on a run of eight games without a clean sheet and are letting in goals for fun. Despite this recent stretch, they’re still conceding goals at a lower rate than they were last season.
BFC do need to start tightening up at the back, however. Their offense can only bail them out so many times and they need to cut out the mistakes and get back to being the rock-solid unit they were at the start of the campaign. With the kind of experienced defenders that they have, you would think they will improve. If that happens and the attack keeps firing the way it has, then there’s a good chance they’ll be the ones hoisting the trophy come the end of the season.