BENGALURU: Christmas lights twinkled outside Sree Kanteerava Stadium, but Bengaluru FC faced a gloomy prospect inside.

After failing to convert early chances through Javi Hernandez and Sunil Chhetri, they watched Gurpreet Singh Sandhu deny Jithin MS’ long-range effort. Then, with four minutes left, a Bengaluru lapse gifted a penalty to NorthEast United, expertly dispatched by Nestor Albiach.As gloom turned to desperation. Attacking relentlessly, the Blues bombarded the box.

In the dying minutes, substitute Jessel Carneiro whipped in a perfect cross, met by the diving header of 22-year-old Sivasakthi Narayanan. The chants erupted as Bengaluru snatched a 1-1 draw, saving Christmas joy from going up in smoke. Despite dominating possession and chances, Bengaluru struggled to break down the resolute NorthEast defence.

Ryan Williams, replacing the injured Slavko Damjanovic, provided width, but Chhetri and Hernandez missed opportunities. Jithin MS nearly opened the scoring for NEUFC, but Sandhu kept Bengaluru afloat.