Bengaluru FC's Gerard Zaragoza hails impact of substitutions in Kerala Blasters win

The Blues took home all three points courtesy of substitute Edgar Mendez’s two goals.

Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza admitted his team faced possibly their toughest challenge of the season in their 3-1 victory over Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

The Spaniard’s side got all three points courtesy of goals from Edgar Mendez and Jorge Pereyra Diaz against a resilient Tuskers side backed by a raucous Manjappada crowd in the Indian Super League (ISL) game on Friday. 

It was an end-to-end match in which Pereyra Diaz opened the scoring with a sublime chip to open the scoring in the eighth minute. The Blues showed a lot of tactical adaptability and defensive resilience after taking the lead. Going 1-0 up, Zaragoza’s squad was pinned back into their half by Kerala, who attacked them wave after wave and however not able to find the net until the stroke of half time. 

An intelligent lung-busting run from Kwame Peprah through the heart of Bengaluru’s defense put him in a 1-on-1 situation with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. However, he was brought down in the box by defender Rahul Bheke with the referee pointing to the spot.

Jesus Jimenez made no mistake from the spot, sending Gurpreet the wrong way. For the second half, Gerard Zaragoza allowed more crosses but contained most of them effectively, limiting Kerala’s true scoring opportunities.

While playing like that was a calculated risk, the Spaniard remained confident and backed his defenders to handle the situation like they had in the first six games of the season.

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One pivotal aspect of Bengaluru’s victory was Zaragoza’s well-timed substitutions, which injected fresh energy and quality during crucial stages of the match. The introduction of Edgar Mendez in the 63rd minute was an inspired substitution who scored twice in the 74th minute and added time to ease West Block Blues’ nerves. 

Gerard Zaragoza’s thoughts on substitutions

Gerard Zaragoza praised the impact of his deep squad on the bench and stated, “Yes, I think that Edgar Mendez was starting eleven, I think all the games. Sunil from six games too was on the bench. Today he played winger, last season, the last game he was on the bench. Of course, all the teams have key players, that’s for sure. But see, for example, today we had the problem with Poojary and then Suresh, and we put Salah and he did nice. I mean, I believe in all.”

The Spaniard also expects the returns of players like Ryan Williams, will further add depth and versatility to Bengaluru’s lineup. On a night when Gerard Zaragoza’s balanced approach was evident, he stressed the importance of the team’s performance and got the three points that mattered most.

The Blues’ resilient and well-rounded display against Kerala Blasters not only demonstrated their tactical discipline but also reinforced the coach’s trust in his squad depth.

With the support of a flexible bench, Gerard Zaragoza’s Bengaluru FC appears unbeatable and well-prepared to mount a credible title challenge this season.

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