How Mohun Bagan can help misfiring Dimitrios Petratos regain form?

Dimitrios Petratos has two goals this season in ISL.

Mohun Bagan might be firing on all cylinders at the top of the Indian Super League (ISL), but the same can’t be said of their forward Dimitri Petratos. The 32-year-old is now into his third campaign with the Mariners, but his performances have gotten progressively worse when compared to the last two seasons.

In the 2024-25 season so far, the Australian star has only scored two goals in 15 appearances for the Mariners. He has also grabbed three assists, but the majority of Petratos’ performances have left fans wanting much more. Even though he’s been a decent creative force (32 chances created), Petratos has been frustrating to watch in the final third.

He’s been especially underwhelming as a substitute, only having one goal from the bench. In the last few games, Petratos was introduced to impact the result but failed to make any significant contribution. He’s seemingly lost his magic in finishing off chances and has become surprisingly error-prone.

There is, of course, a high quality inside there and it’s now upon Jose Molina to help him get back to his best. Here are some ways that might be done.

3. Don’t overburden him with responsibilities

A reason that Dimitrios Petratos might be making errors and coming up short is that he is often trying way too hard for the ‘spectacular’ something. Realizing the kind of popularity he’s attained and how the fans trust him, the 32-year-old tends to take up too many responsibilities which is slowly starting to affect his game. Perhaps Molina needs to make the forward get his priorities in check when it comes to how he approaches the matches under the gaffer’s system.

That means when Mohun Bagan are in desperate need of goals, Dimitrios Petratos has to look into converting chances rather than trying to be an all-round superstar. He needs to be more protective with how he approaches certain games, which means trying to get at the end of chances when goals are needed and perhaps being more relaxed when Mohun Bagan are in total control of matches.

If he needs to create something, Petratos should only look at doing that and work on his set-piece delivery or overall crossing techniques to improve that. He needs to stop trying to be the link-up person and finisher because doing that will only cause him to get jumbled up in the final third.

2. Allow him freedom to manoeuvre in the opposition half

Dimitrios Petratos has been averaging over two chances created per game for the Mariners so far this season in the ISL. That itself is an indication that he can be a pretty significant creative threat if given enough room and freedom to play his game the way he prefers it. Now, the way that Molina can perhaps ‘unlock’ the very best in Petratos and ensure he gets goal contributions regularly is by giving him the utmost freedom.

That probably includes not restricting him to operate in certain zones in the opposition half but moving around wherever he feels is the best area. Petratos is a gifted footballer who can create chances from a variety of different positions on the pitch, be it nailing a through ball to send his teammates through on goal or swinging in inviting crosses.

To ensure that Dimitrios Petratos can get more assists and be a tormenting factor for the opponents, he needs to be given more room to manoeuvre as that freedom can help him regain his confidence.

1. Play him behind the main striker

The thing about Dimitrios Petratos is that he’s not getting any younger and some injury troubles have impacted his fitness levels in the ongoing campaign. He’s not been helped by facing stiff competition in that centre-forward role from the expensive summer signing Jamie Maclaren and the impactful Jason Cummings.

At this point, it’s perhaps safer to play him in the withdrawn striker role or perhaps as no.10 – depending on the kind of system Molina prefers in particular games. Irrespective of whether Petratos is used as a starter or as an impact substitute, having him play just behind the striker can do him wonders.

That is because it’ll allow him more leniency in terms of being able to create chances as well as control how things work in the opposition area. Petratos also excels in being able to score long-distance shots and is smart enough to make those late runs from deep areas to finish off moves. He still has enough tricks up his sleeve to be a potent goal contributing figure behind the striker and perhaps tweaking his role can help unleash the very best in the Australian forward.

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