Simon Grayson: No player deserves to play next week

Bengaluru FC have now lost their last four games in a row.

Bengaluru FC were hammered by Mumbai City 4-0 through goals from Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Apuia, Bipin Singh, and Lallianzuala Chhangte. Mumbai dominated both halves, barring a period of resurgence for Bengaluru just after the opening goal. The forwards tried their best but were ably halted by the Mumbai City defenders. Simon Grayson outlined the lack of passion and individual mistakes as the root causes of the defeat.

Defensive errors mounting up

In the last two games, defensive errors from individuals have laid BFC low. Just one led to points being dropped against East Bengal but tonight, all four goals were through errors from the BFC backline.

Simon Grayson was upset with the display and said, “Hugely disappointed and frustrated. We started the season with the goal of being defensively solid and not conceding too many goals. We keep making stupid mistakes. When the opposition gets the first goal, it makes things very difficult. Football is all about being ruthless in both 18-yard boxes. We gave too many chances away tonight.

He added, "There was not a lot of heart and soul, especially in the second half. In the first half, we were creative and passing positively. If the goal goes in from Danish and it's 1-1, it’s a different game but it's ifs, buts, and maybes again. Mumbai is a team that keeps good possession of the ball but tonight they had runners out forward and won second balls. We didn’t win enough second balls and make good decisions. When the third goal went in, our players did not show the right attributes and character you need within a team, never mind being successful.”

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Character and attitude of the players

For a team with quality players and spoken of as pre-tournament favourites, BFC have looked like a shadow of their former selves. The climb up the table looks increasingly challenging with each passing defeat.

Grayson said, “I can talk and give them as much information as possible but they need to analyse their own performances. There isn’t one player in the dressing room that can say to me that they deserve to play next week. The bottom line is I have got this group of players till January at the earliest.

"The experienced players are making dreadful decisions. We have to work hard at the training pitch and we have to get a break somewhere to end this run. We have got some good players who play with a heart and soul. They have shown that over large parts of a game but not consistently over 90 minutes. Individuals have to look at stupid mistakes,” added the tactician.

Benching Sunil Chhetri

Captain Sunil Chhetri was benched and came on for Danish Farooq in the 63rd minute. Chhetri could not influence the play much, as Mumbai ran riot at home. Simon Grayson explained his decision saying, “Sunil is 38, trains every day, and is passionate about playing every game. You have to leave him out sometimes to freshen him up.

He added, "Sunil was fine with this decision. None of the players are playing with the capabilities that I see in training but you got to be strong mentally to take training lessons into matchday situations. It (plan) was to lengthen the pitch with Danish against a good team like Mumbai.”

Changing formations

BFC changed formations from a back 4 to a back 3 in the second half and delivered no success. Mumbai put their foot on the gas and picked Bengaluru apart. Grayson said, “We reverted to a system we played in pre-season and the early parts of the season. Our defenders were getting moved around too much and playing another one back there should have given us more stability. But when the third goal goes in it's one ball over the top.

"That is not about the opposition moving us around like they did in the first half, it was about players not running back quickly enough. You can talk about tactics all night but that was not the reason we were beaten tonight. The reason was that we did not show enough spirit and that was hugely disappointing,” added the 52-year-old.

The impact of conceding first

A dispirited performance from the Bengaluru players restricted them from even attempting a comeback. Mumbai got stronger as the minutes went by and stretched the BFC defence by winning second balls. The quality mismatch was evident and outlined by Grayson too.

“We work hard on the training pitch but we can’t make mistakes. Players have to take responsibility and make decisions of what they have to do. I can guide them with my coaching staff but we have to be more ruthless. If we got the equalizer or didn’t concede the first goal in the manner that we did, we may have won the game.

"In the first half there was not a great deal between the teams. If you said to me at half time that we will lose 4-0, I would have been surprised. They are a good team, Mumbai. We saw them come from two goals down against Chennaiyin to win 6-2. They worked harder than our players and that is not acceptable,” the mentor concluded.