Talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri-led Bengaluru FC defeated Mumbai City FC to win their maiden Durand Cup title in the finals played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.
Siva Sakthi scored in the 10th minute and Alan Costa scored in the 61st to down the team from Mumbai, whose sole goal in the game was scored by Apuia in a thrilling final.
Sakthi gave the Bengaluru an early lead with his fifth goal of the tournament. However, Mumbai rode back into the game with Apuia scoring after the team was awarded a free kick following a foul from Sandesh Jhingan in a dangerous area.
The game kept up with the intensity with both sides creating good chances to score. In the second half it was Bengaluru who took the lead again through Alan Costa who jumped highest to head home from a Sunil Chhetri corner.
For Mumbai, the most notable chance came through midfielder Ripoll in the 77th minute when his mazing run from the midfield and the subsequent shot struck the upright and bounced back.
Moreover, Chhetri had a couple of good chances to score in the 69th and the 87th minute but somehow did not score in an otherwise fine outing.
With six minutes added on at the end of normal time, Mumbai gave it their all with Greg Stewart getting a chance in the 94th minute, however, he shot wide with the match ending 2-1 in favour of Bengaluru.
