Bengaluru FC vs Indian Navy FT, Durand Cup 2024: Sunil Chhetri and Co. win comfortably by large 4-0 margin

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Former champions Bengaluru FC secured a 4-0 victory over the Indian Navy Football Team (INFT) in a Durand Cup 2024 Group B match at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), thanks to first-half goals from Rahul Bheke and Sunil Chhetri, and a second-half brace by Jorge Peryra Diaz.

Bengaluru's new Spanish manager, Gerard Zaragoza, started the game with Sivasakthi and Australian striker Ryan Williams up front, keeping key players like Sunil Chhetri and new recruit Jorge Peryra-Diaz on the bench.

The Navy's coach, Raman Rai, started with a familiar lineup, leaving last year's captain and defensive mainstay Dalraj Singh on the bench. In their red away kits, Bengaluru FC capitalized on Dalraj's absence, pressing from the start despite the rainy conditions.

Sivasakthi had early chances but it was experienced center-back Rahul Bheke who opened the scoring, heading in a goal from an Alberto Noguera Ripoll corner.

Zaragoza then brought on Sunil Chhetri, who scored with his first touch from the penalty spot after Navjot was sent off for fouling Williams in the box. Bengaluru continued to dominate in the second half, even after Dalraj's introduction by the Navy.

The third goal came in the 80th minute when Peryra Diaz, set up by Chhetri, headed in his first goal of the tournament. He added another in stoppage time, running onto a long pass from Ripoll and finishing past the Navy goalkeeper Vishnu into the bottom left corner.