TOUGH TASK AHEAD FOR BENGALURU

Johor Bahru, Sept. 27: A stern test awaits ILeague champions Bengaluru FC when they take on reigning champions Johor Darul Ta’zim in the first leg of the AFC Cup semifinal at the Larkin Stadium, here on Wednesday.

The Blues will be up against a dominant JDT side that only last week claimed their third Malaysian League title in a row — a feat they achieved without losing a game.

Earlier in the season, the Malaysian team won the FA Cup and the Charity Shield to make it three trophies in 2016 for the Mario Gomez-coached side.

“We know everything about the opponents. They deserve to be here and are a very strong rival. We are not scared about that. For us, it’s a nice challenge and the aim is to put on a performance,” said Bengaluru coach Albert Roca.

Johor are part of Bengaluru’s history in continental football by being the Blues’ first ever opponents in the AFC competition when the two teams battled it out in the ACL qualifier at the Larkin Stadium early in 2015.

The Malaysian team didn’t progress in the Champions League but went on to win the AFC Cup while Bengaluru bowed out at the Roundof-16 stage. This season the two sides met again, after being drawn in Group H with Johor winning both legs of the league stages to finish on top of the table while Bengaluru qualified for the knock-out stages by finishing second.