Juan Pedro Benali reveals the turning point in loss against Mohun Bagan

Mohun Bagan came back twice to secure all three points.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated Juan Pedro Benali’s NorthEast United FC by a 3-2 margin in the Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday. The second goal scored by Subhasis Bose, the captain of the Mariners, sparked controversy.

In the 61st minute of the game, NorthEast United goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh failed to collect a header from Tom Aldred. In the rebound, Dimitri Petratos missed the opportunity. After that, Gurmeet Singh seemed to have collected the ball, but a kick from Mariners’ captain Subhasish Bose found the back of the net.

Football is unfair

NorthEast United FC coach, Juan Pedro Benali, expressed his disappointment over the second goal. Calling football an unfair game, he stated, “You can play against 11 players, but not against the elements. You only need to see the arm of our goalkeeper, Gurmeet Singh covered in blood, that is enough.”

In response to a question about the referee’s decisions, Juan Pedro Benali said, “The referee does his job. I do mine. I’m proud of the job I do. You should ask the referee. I always try to help the referees. But sometimes, I repeat, I don’t want to say something. Football is unfair sometimes.” Juan Pedro Benali added.

Commenting on the performance, Juan Pedro Benali emphasized, “I’m really happy and proud of my players because we showed that we’re growing. We still make mistakes, but we’re growing. To go head-to-head with Mohun Bagan in their stadium and lose like this is something to be proud of.”

NorthEast United FC opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the game. A bullet shot from Mohammed Ali Bemammer completely beat Vishal Kaith and went into the goal.

Mohun Bagan responded within 10 minutes. Dipendu Biswas’ header touched the upper side of the crossbar and went into the net. It was the youngster’s first senior goal.

On rain disruption

Speaking about the rain, the Spanish coach said it affected both teams. “Maybe it took us two or three minutes more to adapt. And, some players were very tired and couldn’t change very quickly. We tried, but the ball did not go out, so we couldn’t make quick changes,” Juan Pedro Benali concluded.

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