PANJIM: FC Goa will look to continue with the winning momentum, leaving behind their tricky slow start, as they clash against rivals, Bengaluru FC today.
The Gaurs earned a hard-fought revival win in the Indian Super League against East Bengal in their previous game. Despite the three pointers, coach Juan Ferrando hasn’t been impressed with team’s performance so far.
Though FC Goa scored four, they conceded thrice and had to labour for the win. Overall, they have conceded 11 times in the first four games.Of which they conceded seven from set-pieces. The Gaurs won against East Bengal, but the performance? It wasn’t the one we usually used to see from FC Goa.
For coach Juan Ferrando, it wasn’t just about the defensive concerns but overall team play and he looks to put more attention and details in the team which faces Bengaluru FC at Athletic Stadium, Bambolim.
“Be it defence or attack, the responsibility lies with the entire team. We decide to press as a team, we decide to close the gaps as a team. It’s not only the job of the three center-backs or left-backs or right-backs or the keeper to defend, no, it’s everybody’s responsibility. Of course, we need to pay more attention to some details because we need to work on our style.” stated FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando while addressing the pre-match conference.
FC Goa undeniably has some interesting stats in the league. They enjoy around 66 percent possession and lead the average number of passes per game to 543. However, they face a similar side in BFC, who are second behind FC Goa in stats. BFC maintain an average 60 percent of possession with nearly 460 passes per game.
With the two sides playing similar style, it would be interesting to watch out for the fixture. However, Bengaluru FC have lost back to back games so far in the league which can give a slight advantage for the Gaurs.
But Juan rubbished FC Goa as favourites in this fixture and stated, “Every team wants to win the games and have the capability to win it. The games are crazy, you’ve seen the results: 6-4, 3-4; so, there are no particular favourites. Personally, the more important thing is the players, they need to work as a team, which they did in the last game, and it was a pleasure to watch them play like that,” stated Juan Ferrando.
In all their meetings, FC Goa have never kept a clean sheet against the Blues and this could be a worry for Juan Ferrando, who is already facing a huge concern in the defence.
Meanwhile BFC have also conceded 10 goals in their last five games and have recorded just one win so far. Their strikers haven’t been delivering so far, especially Sunil Chhetri.
“The energy in the team is positive, but it doesn’t help that we are not getting the results, especially since we are in a bubble. We are investing a lot but the important thing is the three points. It’s not easy to be at a high level for 90 minutes,” stated Bengaluru FC coach Marco Pezzaiuoli.
“We beat NorthEast United 4-2, and since then our opponents have had fewer chances in each game. Hyderabad had a half chance, and they scored. We had three or four chances and didn’t. This is an area we have to work on. We need to improve to get more chances and score more goals. It’s a team effort, and we’re working towards it,” he added.
