Goals from Roy Krishna and Subhasish Bose helped ATK Mohun Bagan defeat Bengaluru FC 2-0 in the Group D opener of the 2021 AFC Cup at the National Stadium in Maldives on Wednesday.
The star-studded ATKMB team handed debuts to 2020-21 ISL winners Amrinder Singh and Hugo Boumous, and Deepak Tangri, while fellow new signings including the pacy Liston Colaco, started on the bench.
Two changes
BFC’s Marco Pezzaiuoli made two changes to the side that overcame Club Eagles, with Naorem Roshan Singh and Ajay Chhetri replacing Ashique Kuruniyan and Rohit Kumar.
Antonio Habas’ side broke the deadlock in the 39th minute when Carl McHugh’s header from a Boumous corner was turned in from point-blank range by Krishna.
ATKMB doubled its lead just moments after the restart, when David Williams found Subhasish in the middle of the box, who turned and smashed the ball low into the far corner. Even as BFC threw men forward in search of goals, ATKMB defended resolutely to ensure a winning start in the continental competition.
BFC will take on Bashundhara Kings on Saturday while ATKMB meets Maziya SRC on the same day.
