ATK Mohun Bagan has progressed to the knockouts of the AFC Cup after drawing 1-1 against Bashundhara Kings. The West Bengal based club needed a draw or a victory in the final game in order to make it through group D. After this result in their final game of the group, ATK Mohun Bagan have finished at the top of the table with 2 wins and 1 draw with Bashundhara finishing second.
After securing qualification emphatically, ATK Mohun Bagan will now face either FC Ahal of Turkeministan or FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan in the inter zonal semi-finals of the AFC Cup. Both the teams have finished at the top of their respective groups. As a result, the Kolkata based club will face an undefeated opponent in the semis.
Moving forward let’s take a look how their future opponents have done in the group stages. Starting with the Turkeminstan club FC Ahal, they had two other teams Dordoi FC and Ravshan Kulob in their group. Ahal won 2-0 against Dordoi and 3-1 against Ravshan Kulob to finish first in the group.
Whereas FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan had 3 other team’s in their group. They went on to win all their games dominantly to finish on the top with 9 points in group FC Nasaf Qarshi did not concede a single goal in this AFC campaign. This stat goes to show their impressive outing in this tournament.
ATK Mohun Bagan will face a hard task ahead in the tournament
As ATK Mohun Bagan progressed into the knockout stages, they were bound to face a difficult test in the semi-finals. Owing to the fact, that FC Nasaf and FC Ahal have won all their games convincingly. In addition to that, both the clubs have done well in their respective leagues.
FC Ahal who play in the Yokary League have finished in the second position with 54 points. On the other hand, FC Nasaf Qarshi playing in the UPFL secured fifth place. Therefore it will not be an easy task to defeat any of these two opponents that will qualify.
ATK Mohun Bagan had dominated their first two outings by defeating Bengaluru 2-0 and the Maldives based Maziya 3-1. However, they struggled against a 10-men Bashundhara and barely escaped with a draw. Therefore they will need to regroup and be at their best while facing FC Ahal or FC Nasaf Qarshi.
Also Read: ATK Mohun Bagan Defeats Maziya 3-1 Following a Spectacular Comeback
