ISL 2023-24: Adrian Luna leads Kerala Blasters to win over Bengaluru FC in season opener

Kerala Blasters FC rode on two second half goals to triumph over Bengaluru FC by 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in the opening fixture of the Indian Super League 2023-24 season.

Blasters’ skipper Adrian Luna was at the centre of both the goals, taking the corner for the first one and netting the other to help his side secure three points after a hard-fought first half saw both the teams head into the tunnel without troubling the scorers.

The first-half was quite gruelling with both teams going neck-to-neck to get one over each other. There was little to separate the two sides in terms of possession, shots taken, and even in attacking parameters with regards to the crosses that they attempted.

Both sides came close to breaking the deadlock as the half progressed though, with Blasters’ Daisuke Sakai’s right-footed shot saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in top centre of the goal in the 33rd minute. Bengaluru hit back with the duo of Suresh Singh Wangjam and Sivasakhti Narayanan seamlessly interlinking near the Kerala box a few minutes later. Wangjam shot hard but it was saved comfortably by Sachin Suresh eventually.

Blasters emerged as a reinvigorated unit in the second essay of the game as they...

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