Sunil Chettri needs some luck, says Marco Pezzaiuoli after FC Goa loss

The Bengaluru FC skipper has missed two penalties and plenty of sitters in this campaign.

Ever since their win against NorthEast United in the season opener, it's all gone downhill for Bengaluru FC. They suffered their third consecutive loss, following the defeat to FC Goa. With this, they currently rank 10th in the standings — their worst start in Indian Super League history. While the previous few games were the result of individual errors and botched opportunities, yesterday Marco Pezzaiuoli's men put out a rather underwhelming performance overall. Surprisingly, it came against FC Goa, who are also going through a similar patch.

Cleiton Silva has been the only consistent bright spot for them this season — scoring thrice so far. Apart from him, there have only been a few cameos from different players in each game. Defensively as well, they look extremely shaky, with injuries and other absentees constantly plaguing them. So, where do they go from here? Well, it's only a matter of time before we find out.

Bengaluru FC coach Marco Pezzaiuoli shared his thoughts on the match at the post-match press conference. Here are the excerpts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyFMtZ0kXlU

On losing to 10-man FC Goa

Bengaluru FC went down quite surprisingly, despite playing with an additional man for a major part of the game. FC Goa played with 10 men for most of the second half, after Jorge Ortiz saw a straight red for shoving Suresh Wangjam, who had fouled him. Coach Pezzaiuoli though thought his side controlled the game, despite the defeat.

"First of all, we came back good after 1-0. The beginning was very tough, but we came back with a nice goal from Cleiton to make it 1-1. In the second half, we lost a little bit of mind after 11 Vs 10 (Jorge Ortiz's red card). We didn't keep possession of the ball," said the Bengaluru FC boss. "We tried to play with long balls that you usually do when you're with one player more. I think it was a good game after half-time, we controlled Goa completely and also created chances."

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On defensive performance

Next, Pezzaiuoli was asked to elaborate on his side's defensive lapses this season, whether it was because of intensity, lack of concentration or simply the lack of quality. He put it down to the lack of options at the back.

"When you see now, Parag (Shrivas) is coming out of injury, Sarthak (Golui) is not here — we bought him as a defender, but unfortunately he has a family issue. (Yrondu Musavu) King is also out and we're missing some players. This is clear. This is why maybe not everything is 100% clear in the defence now. But again, when we talk about the goals, it's about defending the set-pieces (which we should) do as a team. It's not only defence-wise and I think the opponent today (didn't have) many chances."

Emphasizing the entire team's performance over singling out defenders, he stated, "That's why we don't talk about the defence being poor. It is more difficult with high pressing of course. But, Goa had how many three chances -- which was nothing. That's why we can talk about how we defend set-pieces and how we conceded the second goal. This was not the first time and I'm angry. But, it's not about defence only (alone), it's teamwork."

On road ahead

Bengaluru FC are currently placed 10th in the points standings and have lost three consecutive games. They are also winless in their last five matches in this campaign. Bengaluru next face ATK Mohun Bagan, who are going through a similar run.

"I think, I look forward to the next game. I think ATK Mohun Bagan is a key point. Till 96 minutes, we tried to win today's game — 100% percent. I think let's first make small steps. We missed two penalties and lost some points there. Now today as well, we made some stupid mistakes (even though) it was 11 against 10. It cost points in the end, but I still believe how we play and how we try and win the games," Marco Pezzaiuoli answered.

"Today was again a step higher because we created a lot of chances, which we didn't have before. I see us getting better step-by-step, It's a new team with new players and they need to find (their way). Of course, things like that (three consecutive defeats) cannot happen, especially when you have experienced players in your team," he added.

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On Sunil Chhetri's performance

Captain Sunil Chhetri is yet to open his account this season. Subsequently, he's missed two penalties and a couple of sitters, including one off Naorem Roshan Singh's ball in the first half.

On this issue, Pezzaiuoli stated, "You are a human being you know. (Sometimes) you don't have good luck. For the Indian national team, he had good luck with them, the ball fell many times at his feet and he scored five goals. Today, he had a great chance and was great at creating them as well. It was a big chance, which he normally closes his eyes and scores. This is a hard time in life, which happens sometimes and you need to come out.

"He has the support of the team and also you can see how he worked for the team today. With the ball he was good, but inside the box he needs to get his luck back. If you don't work, you don't get it back. But, he's working and he'll get it back as soon as possible."

Lastly, when asked about the idea of dropping the skipper, Marco Pezzaiuoli responded, "I think there's no reason for talking too much about Sunil. If there's one player you want to talk about we can talk about Ashique (Kuruniyan), whose performance wasn't the best or some other player. But, I don't pick one player out. We lost today as a team and that I think is the important part."

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