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Carles Cuadrat claims Bengaluru FC must aim for third or fourth position

Published at :January 6, 2021 at 4:35 AM
Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM
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(Courtesy : ISL Media)

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The Spaniard also revealed that his plan to counter Mumbai City's threat did not work.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Bengaluru FC were defeated by Indian Super League heavyweights Mumbai City FC on Tuesday night in Goa. Head coach Carles Cuadrat cut a frustrated figure as he saw his side slip to the loss against the Islanders. The Blues sunk to a 3-1 defeat after two early goals pegged the southerners back within the first 15 minutes. A Sunil Chhetri penalty threatened the Islanders, but Ogbeche’s winner sealed the match in Lobera’s favour. 

“We have to improve a lot in many aspects. We have no excuses, we know we have some players who are not currently feeling their best because of muscle issues and Ashique, who was one of the fittest players we have, is also missing," he added.

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"(Bengaluru FC) We have a good squad, but now ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai are the teams that have more consistency with the squad and the way they play the game. Right now, as a club we aim for the playoffs as ATK and Mumbai do appear to be challenging for the championship,” the Spaniard asserted.

On new players at Bengaluru FC

Carles Cuadrat defended his team’s poor form, especially from the new players at the club. He also claimed that for the new members, it would take some time for them to play in the 'Bengaluru way.' 

“The new players at the club have to learn our way of playing. The club has chosen to change the defence, which was among the most consistent last year. I respect the choices of the club. I am a worker of the club. The club decided that Nishu and Serran can take offers from other clubs," he said.

ALSO READ: Sergio Lobera: Ahmed Jahouh needs to learn and avoid getting booked

"My job is to teach the new players like Pratik and Ashique, Ajith Kumar our way of playing. It is a hard job but I love it. I have nothing to say besides that we must keep improving and to give my players the best possible counsel to make them the best possible players and try to be competitive as a team,” he opined.

Initial plan against Mumbai City FC

The Blues appeared to be out of their depth against Mumbai City, who seemed to find spaces behind the Bengaluru lines with ease. Speaking about it, the tactician explained what his intentions from the game were.  

“We had a plan for their way of playing, the players were ready. But, the truth is that they were playing very well and knowing where the spaces were," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9xNeEkEcOw
Watch: Carles Cuadrat speaks in the post-match press conference

"Our plan was to be compact and hit them on the counter with fast players like Deshorn Brown, Cleiton, Suresh and Sunil Chhetri. Two goals in the first 10 minutes gave them an advantage. The guys put in a lot of heart and attitude and we were closing to troubling them at 2-1, but they deserved to win,” the 52-year-old felt. 

“The plan was to not concede spaces to Hugo Boumous, Ahmed Jahouh and Adam Le Fondre. They are their creative players, but they were good to raid the spaces and in our past games with Sergio Lobera, we were competitive with them where we won the title in 2018 and also last season when we beat them, and we conceded a stupid penalty in the 93rd minute."

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"It is a plan that has been working but have to say that they have been playing some good football and deserved to be in front in the first 10 minutes,” the Bengaluru FC head coach continued.

On Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

There has been widespread criticism goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was again in the firing line for a mistake that led to one of the goals. However, Carles Cuadrat firmly backed the custodian.

“I am happy with Gurpreet and I think he’s the best goalkeeper in India and mistakes happen. Last night’s game too saw mistakes from the goalkeeper. It happens in football and we must support him," he quipped.

Mumbai City & ATK Mohun Bagan showing consistency

"We have been losing games, but two of these were against teams that are going to be in the top four for sure and competing for the Champions League places. We, as a club, must understand in the league, we have to aim for the third or fourth position," he added.

"My team has a great heart and we have beaten ATK and Goa in the knockout games, but in a long league, they are showing lot of consistency and for us with our situation, we are not fighting enough to show competitiveness now,” the tactician shared.

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Countering Mumbai City's threat

Carles Cuadrat also revealed that his plan to counter Mumbai's threat did not work and he struggled to understand how his team could not keep Lobera’s team at bay. 

“It was clear that we are trying to close the gaps in our defence but they kept happening. We have new players in those kinds of positions. Pratik for instance, did not know when to press Le Fondre and that created a different kind of space. We have been working on that in the tactical discussions, but the players are the ones taking decisions," he revealed.

"It was not working, and I changed a few things during half-time and we played better in the second half. We also need to know that Mumbai were tiring as they played three days back and they were in a comfortable position leading by two goals. They took advantage of the spaces because we did not find the tactical solution for the movements we know they would do,” Carles Cuadrat concluded.

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