Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 1-0 today in the first match of the SAFF Championship 2021, the first regional tournament hosted solely by the Maldives.
The match which attracted crowds of supporters from both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka played out as an even ended competition and Bangladesh only edged out a winner against their rival courtesy of a 56th-minute penalty awarded for them.
The penalty was awarded to Bangladesh after Duckson Puslas of Sri Lanka fouled a Bangladeshi player inside the penalty area.
Puslas was given his marching orders shortly after he was shown a second yellow card in the march following another for his foul in the first half.
Defender Topu Barman tucked away the well-taken penalty for the Bangladeshi and was proven to be the match-winner.
The win and the three points take Bangladesh to the top of the tournament table with Sri Lanka now at the bottom of the table.
The five-team tournament would be played in a league format with the Championship going to the team with the most points after each team play each other.
Maldives, Nepal, and India also compete in the tournament, and today's second match would see the hosts take on Nepal at 09:00 pm tonight at the National Stadium.
