Marco Pezzaiuoli reflects on BFC's playing style ahead of ATKMB clash

Both sides are winless in their last three games in ISL 2021-22.

Bengaluru FC will lock horns with ATK Mohun Bagan at the GMC Athletic Stadium on 16 December, Thursday. Both teams haven't been in their best shape -- with the Blues being on a three-match losing streak and the Mariners; winless in their recent three. As a result, both would be desperately seeking that much-needed win to elevate themselves up the standings. Particularly from BFC's perspective, capitalizing on the Mariners' form of late would mean a lot; that is, even in terms of their confidence for further games.

Ahead of this clash, Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli spoke at the pre-match press conference:

Performances so far

First up, he shared his thoughts on the team's performances so far. He stated, "We're unhappy because we believe we deserve more points from our games, but the team needs to step up irrespective of who the opponents are."

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Adding on, he also addressed the concern of pressure mounting on a giant entity like Bengaluru FC. "We're trying to find a new identity in our playing style, but the pressure is always on Bengaluru FC because we're a big club. Maybe luck hasn't been on our side, but that doesn't matter, we have to keep working hard," he expressed when asked about challenges faced after such results.

Team News

Further, Marco Pezzaiuoli updated the media on injuries and other absentees that have been constantly plaguing them in the season so far. "I can confirm that Leon (Augustine) and (Yrondu Musavu-) King are out till January with injuries. The rest of the players will be available for selection tomorrow," he addressed; alerting about some absentees for the upcoming fixtures.

On facing ATK Mohun Bagan

Up next, the Blues face Antonio Habas' ATK Mohun Bagan -- who too have been quite shaky recently. However, it will still be a tough challenge, considering their quality players and the attacking threat that they generally possess. On this, the 53-year-old said, "ATKMB are a quality team with Roy Krishna, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco and others.

"They are very good on the counter and we need to make sure we're not caught out, to make sure the team is well-organized for any attack;" thereby emphasizing the approach towards a side of such calibre.

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Defence & other observations

Marco Pezzaiuoli then answered a question pertinent to his side's defensive woes. That is, both in terms of absentees generally and his observations about those in the starting XI on a regular basis. He replied, "Alan (Costa) and Pratik (Chaudhari) are doing well. Pratik has improved and has reduced the number of individual errors compared to last season. But, while the defence is shaping up well, we've lost a key defender in King;" referring to his analysis of the backline.

Finally, in terms of areas of development, he opined, "The more experienced players need to step up and be vocal to guide the youngsters. Irrespective of who's injured, the available players need to take charge and bring the best out of each other;" thereby concluding the press conference.

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