Bhubaneswar: I-League champions Chennai City FC (CCFC) outclassed Indian Super League champions Bengaluru FC (BFC) 2-1 to surge into the semifinals of the Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here Thursday.
Nestor Gordillo gave Chennai the lead in the 15th minute early on. BFC missed an opportunity to equalise in the first with skipper Sunil Chhetri missing a penalty at the start of the second half before Pedro Manzi (54th) doubled the lead for Chennai in the 54th minute.
However, the India skipper made amends for his miss with a free header in the 65th minute but that was all as a resolute Chennai defence denied BFC any comeback. Chennai will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC.
After a slow start, Spanish Nestor drew the first blood, result of a defensive mix-up, on the part of BFC. Tarif Akhand played a delightful long ball over the top towards the right flank which Harmanjot Khabra and Rahul Bheke failed to clear. Nestor continued his run, took the ball into the box and beat Gurpreet Singh Sandhu at his near post.
BFC could have taken the lead but Spaniard Xisco Hernandez with just the goalkeeper to beat, sent his shot wide. The Blues were relentless in search of an equaliser and also came close to it when Jesuraj brought down Sunil inside the box in the 51st minute. But Chennai goalie Mauro Boerchio was unbeaten under the sticks.
Boerchio who is on loan from Neroca FC, dived to his right to deny the India international to keep Chennai in the lead. The newly-crowned I-league champions soon doubled their lead when Khabra failed to intercept Sandro Rodriguez’s pass and Manzi shimmied past Bheke before curling a terrific strike into the net.