Bengaluru FC were handed their second defeat of the season by visitors Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) match which ended 1-2 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Sunil Chhetri equalised in the second half after Jeje Lalpekhlua put the visitors in the lead but Dhanapal Ganesh scored the match-winner in the 88th minute to seal a well-deserved win for the Super Machans.

While Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made his imminent return between the sticks after serving his two-match suspension, Albert Roca made five further changes from their 3-1 win away at FC Pune City. John Johnson, Nishu Kumar, Antoni Dovale, Edu Garcia and Lenny Rodrigues returned to the lineup. Surprisingly, Udanta Singh and Erik Paartalu were on the bench.

Roca’s counterpart John Gregory made four changes of his own as Francisco Fernandes, Bikramjit Singh, Raphael Augusto and Jeje Lalpekhlua were ushered back in by the former Aston Villa manager.

It took only four and a half minutes for Jeje to draw first blood and thereby, silencing the home crowd. Francisco Fernandes played the ball to Inigo Calderon from the right flank whose shot was blocked by Lenny Rodrigues but the rebound was deflected off Sunil Chhetri towards Jeje Lalpekhlua. The former Mohun Bagan striker slotted the ball home past a hapless Gurpreet, who should have done better after getting a hand to it.

Tempers arose quickly as Harmanjot Singh Khabra and Jude Nworuh were involved in a long-embroiled tussle for which the Bengaluru FC full-back was shown a yellow card. Khabra then escaped a second booking and a subsequent red card in the 22nd minute when he elbowed Jeje Lalpekhlua inside his own box to which referee Raktim Saha turned a blind eye on, denying the visitors a clear penalty-kick.

The only time Albert Roca's men looked like getting an equaliser in the first half was when Edu Garcia's grounded shot from range rebounded off the upright and Calderon made a crucial clearance with Chhetri lurking around inside the box.

Chennaiyin's defence was well-organised and Bengaluru FC found it hard to breach as the ISL debutants had zero shots on target in the first half, quite a rare sight for the home crowd.

Roca realising his mistake in team selection immediately threw the pacy Udanta Singh into the mix at the beginning of the second half. 17 seconds later, the home team created their first chance.

The Manipur-born winger eased past three men and found Miku near the byline who then nudged it back to Chhetri. The Bengaluru skipper failed to make a proper connection with his first touch with only the 'keeper to beat.

The intent of the hosts was pretty clear however, Mailson Alves and Henrique Sereno made sure the Bengaluru FC attackers were kept quiet throughout.

Around the hour mark, Jeje's lack of pace failed him as he found himself in a one-on-one situation with only Nishu Kumar to beat. However, Rahul Bheke sized the former Mohun Bagan striker up and his shot was blocked. The ball eventually fell for Francisco Fernandes but the winger blasted his shot over the bar.

Raphael Augusto continued to impress and he had a shot from close range which Gurpreet managed to save. The Brazilian had to be substituted for Rene Mihelic as he picked up a knock.

The equaliser did arrive as Sunil Chhetri was astonishingly left unmarked inside the box. Antoni Dovale's lobbed the ball found Chhetri whose right footed volley made it 1-1.

Just when the home crowd had thought they had stolen back two points from Chennaiyin FC, Dhanapal Ganesh rose the highest to head home as Rene Mihelic turned provider with a lofted ball into the box from a free-kick.

Dimas Delgado lost his bearings as he struck the ball on Mihelic's face in the dying moments of the match.

With the win, Chennaiyin FC went level on points with Bengaluru but remain behind due to an inferior goal difference.