Play-by-Play: Vineeth vanquishes Mumbai FC with his hat-trick, sends Bengaluru top of the table

THE NEW CHAPTER in the rivalry between Bengaluru FC and Mumbai FC did not exactly get off to a competitive start as the defending champions absolutely drove the visitors into shambles, and took the game thanks to a hat-trick by CK Vineeth.

After a relatively calm start (something quickly becoming a stable of the Albert Roca era), Bengaluru broke through the Mumbai defence in the last seconds of the first half with Udanta's cross into the box finding Cameron Watson who fed an oncoming Vineeth for a speedy finish from close range.

The Blues came out all guns blazing in the second half and soon after the hour mark broke through the Mumbai defence again. An overlapping Harmanjot Singh Khabra found Vineeth inside the box who rammed it into the net near the far post on hist first touch. 

At this point Mumbai FC seemed to have already given up but more was yet to come. Vineeth once again got on the back of a quick pass in the box, had all the space he needed for the tap-in, making the season's first hat-trick look easy. 

Throughout the game, Mumbai FC failed to create a single comprehensive opportunity.

After this win, Bengaluru FC are back again at the top of the table, with 9 points from 3 games, beating Mohun Bagan in goal difference. Mumbai FC are left licking their wounds for the first time this season, as their 2 game winning streak was ended by a Bengaluru FC side that after clashing with them for almost 4 years, completely outclassed them for the very first time.

Here's how the match unfolded, narrated through our blow-by-blow real time updates...