ISL 2020, Bengaluru FC vs Hyderabad FC Live Score: HFC loses Sastre, Chianese to injuries vs BFC

Welcome to Sportstar's ISL blog of the match between Bengaluru FC and Hyderbad FC at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa on Saturday.

LIVE UPDATES:

47' SUBSTITUTION! A change straightaway from BFC manager Carles Cuadrat. He withdraws his forward Kristian Opseth and brings in his creative midfielder Dimas Delgado. Bengaluru going for the kill here.

THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!

Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!

Hyderabad FC started the game well and created the better chances. Aridane Santana should have made it 1-0 for HFC, however, Bengaluru FC goalkeeper produced a brilliant save to keep the scores tied.

The injuries to Joel Chianese and Lluis Sastre have put Hyderabad on the back foot big time. It's advantage BFC and Sunil Chhetri and company will be eager to break the deadlock. Can HFC come back stronger? 

45' Two minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half! The two injuries might prove costly for Hyderabad FC, which has played better than Bengaluru FC so far.

42' ANOTHER HFC INJURY! Lluis Sastre pulls his left hamstring. This is very bad for Hyderabad, which loses a second foreigner. Hitesh Sharma will replace Sastre in the middle. Marquez looks a worried man. His star midfielder is stretchered off the field.

39' OFFSIDE! Free-kick for BFC. HFC has enjoyed dominance in the last few minutes. Lluis Sastre has orchestrated the midfield in style. However, Hyderabad is not able to get shots on target.

36' CROSS! Another Hyderabad attack and Halicharan Narzary sprinted forward with ball on the left flank. But his delivery into the box is a poor one as Bengaluru defender Juanan clears it away with ease.

33' INJURY! HFC's Joel Chianese has a terrible ankle injury. He was the victim of a silly tackle and is not able to continue here. SUBSTITUTION! Manager Manolo Marquez has brought on Mohammad Yasir to replace Joel in the middle.

30' It's time for the drinks break!

27'  CORNER FOR HFC! Joel Chianese went on another solo run and got close to the box. But his low cross was cleared away by Suresh Wangjam. The set-piece was a poor one from the men in yellow.

25' WHAT A SAVE! Bengaluru keeper Gurpreet Singh keeps the score 0-0 with a wonderful save. Hyderabad forward Aridane Santana jumped the highest during a cross and got a shot on target. Gurpreet, however, tucked the ball away to safety with a strong right hand.

23' YELLOW CARD! Bengaluru midfielder Paartalu is the first player booked today. He executed a mistimed sliding tackle on Hyderabad's Halicharan Narzary to be penalised by the referee.

20' FOUL! Free-kick for Bengaluru FC. Cleiton Silva has been brought down in midfield. Paartalu will take the set-piece. There's some innovation here. But the end product is a mess as Hyderabad FC regains possession.

17' OFFSIDE! Joao Victor with a pass from midfield. Poojary was a little too eager to get to the ball as the linesman raises his flag. Chianese was also offside there.

14' CROSS! Hyderabad with another move forward. Nikhil Poojary tries to cross the ball into the box from the right. But the ball falls straight into the hands of Bengaluru custodian Gurpreet Singh.

11' CHANCE FOR BFC! Suresh Wangjam with a brilliant through ball to Udanta Singh, who sprints on the right flank. But the Indian winger is unable to put in a decent cross into the box.

8' GOOD TACKLE! Joel Chianese almost made it into the box with a solo run for HFC. However, three Bengaluru players surrounded him and Cleiton Silva tackled Joel at the right time to retrieve the ball.

5' SHOT! BFC's Ashique Kuruniyan tries his luck from some way out but his effort is blocked and it goes into the hands of the Hyderabad keeper Subrata Paul.

2' Hyderabad has started this game well. It has created two half chances already. However, we all know what Bengaluru can do on the counter.

7:30 PM: THE MATCH BEGINS!

7:25 PM: The players are out!

7:10 PM: The seventh edition of the Indian Super League (ISL), reinforced with the long-awaited introduction of Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan (now ATK-Mohun Bagan) and East Bengal, will be held in a world like no other — not a world of dreams, but a dystopian nightmare. (READ OUR MAGAZINE COVER STORY)

6:50 PM: The teams are completing their final training drills ahead of the game.

Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri ahead of his side's outing against Hyderabad FC at the Fatorda Stadium on Saturday.   -  ISL/SPORTZPICS

6:30 PM: The team line-ups are out!

BENGALURU XI: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Juan Antonio Gonzalez Fernandez, Erik Endel Paartalu, Kristian Fardal Opseth, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Sunil Chhetri (C), Udanta Singh Kumam, Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan, Cleiton Augusto Oliveira Silva, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Francisco Javier Gonzalez Munoz.

HYDERABAD XI: Subrata Paul (GK), Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Lluis Sastre, Joel Joseph Chianese, Joao Victor de Albuquerque Bruno, Aridane Jesus Santana Cabrera (C), Odei Onaindia Zabala, Halicharan Narzary, Nikhil Poojary, Akash Mishra, Asish Rai.

6:10 PM: Hyderabad FC will feature a new line-up of foreign players in the 2020-21 Indian Super League. Aridane Santana, one of the star performers for Odisha FC last season, joined the club alongside fellow Spaniards Odei Onaindia, Fran Sandaza and Llius Sastre. Here's a look at the overseas players in Mumbai City FC's squad for ISL 2020-21. (FULL STORY)

6:00 PM: It's been a whirlwind start to the ISL season with matches coming in one day after another. If you happened to miss the action from the first gameweek, our reporters have reviewed the first five matches in our 'Full Time Show' podcast.

5:50 PM: Since Hyderabad FC debuted last season, the two have only have faced each other twice during the league stage. Hyderabad, in terms of wins during the regular season, is second from the bottom in the history of the competition with 3 victories from 19 matches at a success rate of 15.78 per cent. On the other hand, Bengaluru FC, which is featuring in the ISL for the fourth time, is fifth in the list with 36 wins from 63 matches at a success rate of 57.14 per cent. (READ MORE)

5:35 PM: Former champion Bengaluru FC has managed to retain some of its star players for the seventh season of the Indian Super league, with the likes of Erik Paartalu, Dimas Delgado and Juanan extending their stay, while adding the likes of Brazilian Cleiton Silva and Spain defender Fran Gonzalez. (FULL STORY)

5:20 PM: Bengaluru FC will be eying its first win of the season when it takes on Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao on Saturday. Here's how the two teams could line-up. (PREDICTED XI - READ MORE)

Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 here. Click here

ISL 2020-21 points table

A big preview for the biggest season yet. Our reporters have their say on whether Bengaluru FC and Hyderabad FC are among their picks for the ISL title. Listen to our 'Full Time Show' Podcast for the 2020-21 season.

MATCH PREVIEW:

Bengaluru FC (BFC) will look to put behind the disappointment of not emerging with full points from the opener against FC Goa when it takes on Hyderabad FC at the Fatorda Stadium on Saturday.

Having led by two goals at the hour mark, BFC allowed last year’s league topper to score twice in three minutes, and ultimately had to settle for a solitary point.

“At 2-0, we were close to a win and had some chances to make the scoreline bigger,” said BFC coach Carles Cuadrat on match eve. “[But] some players were not ready for 90 minutes and we had to make substitutions. We also have to consider that the opponent was good and had a top team.”

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“But our team is working well. In a very short period of [preparation] time, we have achieved some targets. We could have lost the game by becoming negative. But players like Dimas Delgado came on and it helped. We calmed down and almost put Goa in trouble again. Now, we have had one more week of training which is good for the players’ physical conditioning. So the mood is positive,” Cuadrat added.

Hyderabad, however, will be no pushover. It had just two wins last season and hadn’t kept a single clean sheet. But against Odisha FC on Monday, it appeared to have shed a lot of the baggage. Aridane Santana’s lone penalty decided the tie but Hyderabad created a host of chances and was solid at the back.

Forward Liston Colaco impressed after coming on as a substitute and may be rewarded with a place in the first eleven. In defence, the trio of goalkeeper Subrata Paul and centre-backs Joao Victor and Odei Onaindia kept Odisha at bay.

ALSO READ | ISL 2020-21: Manvir Singh becomes ATK Mohun Bagan's first Indian goal-scorer

“The first win brought a lot of confidence,” said Hyderabad coach Manolo Marquez ahead of the match. “We played a good game and for me, every game is hard. Till now, out of the seven games, there have been five with just one goal difference and two draws. It is very difficult to win the games with a comfortable margin.”

“If we want to win we have to give a very good performance. Maybe it’s better to play [strong] teams in the beginning but BFC is a dangerous opponent and very good on the counter. If we lose the ball in the centre, BFC will be very dangerous,” Marquez added.

THE SQUADS:

BENGALURU FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lara Sharma, Dipesh Chauhan, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Juanan, Rahul Bheke, Fran Gonzalez, Harmanjot Khabra, Ajith Kumar, Joe Zoherliana, Biswa Darjee, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Srivas, Pratik Chaudhari, Wungngayam Muirang, Dimas Delgado, Erik Paartalu, Suresh Wangjam, Thoi Singh, Ajay Chhetri, Naorem Roshan Singh, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Amay Morajkar, Sunil Chhetri, Kristian Opseth, Cleiton Silva, Ashique Kuruniyan, Deshorn Brown, Udanta Singh, Edmund Lalrindika, Leon Augustin, Semboi Haokip

HYDERABAD FC: Subrata Paul, Laxmikant Kattimani, Manas Dubey, Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Chinglensana Singh, Odei Onaindia, Dimple Bhagat, Nikhil Prabhu, Sahil Panwar, Akash Mishra, Kynsailang Khongsit, Asish Rai, Adil Khan, Halicharan Narzary, Joao Victor, Laldanmawia Ralte, Lluis Sastre, Hitesh Sharma, Abhishek Halder, Sahil Tavora, Mark Zothanpuia, Mohamed Yasir, Nikhil Poojary, Souvik Chakrabarti, Sweden Fernandes, Aridane Santana, Fran Sandaza, Joel Chianese, Liston Colaco, Ishan Dey, Lalawmpuia, Rohit Danu