Chhetri becomes oldest hat-trick scorer as Bengaluru FC dominate Kerala Blasters

Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri made another glorious addition to his plethora of records by becoming the oldest player to score a hattrick in the Indian Super League as he helped Bengaluru FC decimate Kerala Blasters 42 in a Season 202425 clash at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on SaturdayChhetri inspired the Blues to clinch all three points in this edition of the Southern Rivalry as he scored thrice and at 40 years and 126 days became the oldest hattrick scorer in the ISL surpassing Bartholomew Ogbeche who did it for Hyderabad FC against FC Goa at 38 years and 96 days old in January 2023Despite holding only 36437 of total possession Bengaluru FC were clinical in converting the limited opportunities that they created as four of their five shots on target resulted in goalsAlso ReadIga Swiatek reflects on suspension a horror and nightmareThe duo of Chhetri and Ryan Williams were critical in helping the Blues take a 20 advantage in the first half of the gameThe home side was pressing forward from the onset exploring a host of opportunities to find the back of the net Williams was central in that endeavour driving to the flank with the ball before lobbing in a precise cross for Chhetri in the eighth minute The striker timed his run to perfection and thundered in the assist to break the deadlockFrom provider Williams turned the scorer in the 38th minute Operating in the final third Williams received a pass from Edgar Mendez at the edge of the box on the right side Instead of playing a short pass forward the former curled in an excellent shot into the top left corner to add another goal to his sidersquos tallyKerala Blasters FC entered the second session of the match with arguably greater intensity taking the game to the opposition Noah Sadaoui played a key role in that setting up an assist for Jesus Jimenez in the 56th minute Whilst the pass was straightforward Jimenezrsquos leftfooted effort found its way into the centre of the goal to cut the deficitWith momentum swaying in their favour Kerala Blasters FC equalised the scores in the 67th minute Freddy Lallawmawmarsquos exceptional aerial abilities came to the fore as Adrian Lunarsquos cross following a corner was met accurately by the former from the left side of the sixyard box to the bottom left cornerBengaluru FC immediately got together and their seasoned frontline took the lead in that Six minutes later Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Chhetri interlinked in the attacking half as the Argentine orchestrated the goal with his accurate pass from a fast break picking the latter on the centre of the box Chhetri deposited the ball into the bottom left cornerTo his credit Chhetri kept finding himself in goalscoring opportunities and that was consistent right until the end of the game In the added time of the second half Chinglensana Singh turned to Chhetri following a setpiece scenario and the striker was perfectly positioned in the middle of the 18yard area His finishing finesse was visible again as he slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to complete a treble of goalsKerala Blasters FC will play their next match against Mohun Bagan Super Giant on December 14 Bengaluru FC will be squaring off against FC Goa on the same day in a Saturday doubleheaderThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever