In a season of manic chaos, Mumbai City FC vs. Chennaiyin FC was a serious match between two serious teams. There was an intensity in midfield, a discipline in defence and an overriding feeling of sensibility. It was perhaps fitting, then, that the match was decided by a man of rather sensible seriousness.
Rahul Bheke doesn't do flashy. Not when he's playing well. And on Wednesday, he was doing just that. The passing was short and accurate. There was no unnecessary dwelling on the ball, no sliding into hopeless tackles. He won ground duels by staying on his feet and keeping his calm. He won aerial ones by attacking them with courage. With Mumbai playing on the front foot and Chennaiyin happy to sit back and counter, there was a lot of space in front of him. He managed it with supreme confidence. For 85 minutes he quietly marshalled the defence. In the 86th, he ghosted in behind Mourtada Fall and nodded home an Ahmed Jahouh freekick. 1-0, job done, let's go home.
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The goal itself was a study in Bheke-ness. With attention focused on the aerial-duel-winning cheat code that is Fall, Bheke slipped in quietly behind all the hullabaloo. Vishal Kaith came and got nowhere close to the ball, Bheke made sure he timed his run to perfection and that he didn't flinch at the thought of heavy contact. Simple, yet highly effective.
Bheke, of course, is the scorer of one of this nascent league's most iconic headers - an extra-time winner that decided the 2019 final (Coincidentally, another serious match between two serious teams decided by Bheke). That game, in which he was adjudged man of the match, should have been the platform from which he leapt to become the dependable-presence-at-the-back India have craved for ages, but it wasn't to be.
The past two seasons had been a struggle. He was beset with injuries and when fit, plagued by inconsistency. Mistakes crept in, silly ones. Tackles became rash, goals rare and his passing irregular. As his team, Bengaluru FC, crumbled, so did he. He continued to play regularly for both club and country, his coaches trusting his natural ability, but there was an element of uncertain chaos that seemed to hang around him at times. A most un-Bheke-like element. So he decided it was time to get out and push himself.
Speaking to ESPN just before the start of the season, Bheke had said that he had joined City for "a new challenge", to fulfill a dream to play for his "home team". Now this isn't the kind of home team he was used to seeing. Generally clubs that represent Mumbai in national football are fighting units, built for the mid-table scrap, but this one's different. City Football Group expect to win, and with that comes a special kind of pressure. But he was ready. It appears that he knew the only way to shake himself out of this lull was to jump in at the deep end.
Des Buckingham, the young and exciting Englishman who took over from double-winning Sergio Lobera, played a major part in convincing Bheke. "He had seen my games and told me that I was part of his plans, that he wanted me to be a part of the club," Bheke had told us. This was a theme that would recur in the conversation, and it's evident that the coach's complete confidence has had a positive effect on him.
He had always wanted to be a right back ("my favourite position") like his idols Dani Alves and Phillip Lahm, but his flexibility has always been his greatest strength. That and his willingness to do whatever the coach asks of him. With the four foreigner rule creating issues for coaches across the league, Buckingham has leaned on those qualities heavily.
Bheke has started all six of City's matches. He's been solid, unspectacular, and reliable. If the thrilling attacking play has stolen all the headlines, whatever praise that has come in for their defence has usually centred around the charismatic Fall. Bheke doesn't seem to mind it. If anything, it appears to be helping him - like it did for the goal on Wednesday.
In November, he had spoken about how he "as a defender" had "learned a lot" from the last two seasons. He had also said, with conviction, "I won't be repeating those mistakes." It's early days yet this season, but you can see why he was so convinced. He always knew he had it in him. It's a belief that's nurtured by constantly pushing himself. "Every season, every game, every day. It's a challenge to keep improving," he had said. "There is no such-and-such a limit where you reach and then it's over. So, it's always in me that I'll keep working hard."