Bengaluru FC extends lead at the top with a narrow victory over Punjab FC in ISL

Bengaluru FC has set a new record for the most minutes without conceding from the start of an ISL season, with a tally of 450 minutes and still counting. This surpasses Jamshedpur FC's record of 389 minutes from the 2017-18 season. Gerard Zaragoza, who achieved four clean sheets under his watch last season, has now broken his own record thanks to this achievement.

A solitary goal from Naorem Roshan Singh was enough to hand Zaragoza’s side their fourth victory of the season. Punjab FC tried their luck mostly from a distance, often missing the target.

Bengaluru FC’s first positive move came in the 10th minute when Naorem Roshan Singh found himself at the end of a through ball. But before the full-back could conjure some magic, Khaiminthang Lhungdim came to Punjab FC’s rescue.

Ten minutes later, the Blues came up with another chance. Rohit Danu played a pass onto Edgar Mendez's feet. Mendez then laid it off to Roshan. The latter took some extra time on the ball and his shot was successfully blocked by Suresh Meitei.

Finally, in the 43rd minute, the deadlock was broken. Jorge Pereyra Diaz’s cross from inside the 18-yard area itself took a deflection to fall into the path of Roshan. The left-back didn’t hesitate to try his luck and came back with a stunning goal. Nikhil Prabhu tried to restore parity from distance before the half-break. However, his shot was quite some distance from the target.

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In the 50th minute, the Blues could have found their second goal of the evening. Jorge Pereyra Diaz played in a ball to Sunil Chhetri who laid it off for Alberto Noguera. The Spaniard’s curling effort, meanwhile, wasn’t on target. Bengaluru FC went down to 10 men in the 58th minute after Chinglensana Singh was given his marching orders. Post this, Punjab FC started getting a stronghold of the game.

Punjab FC got their best chance of the evening in the 74th minute. Asmir Suljic whipped in a ball into the six-yard area. Roshan Singh failed to clear it properly and the ball fell straight into Mushaga Bakenga’s feet. With a clear sight of the goal, the Norwegian hit the crossbar.