XtraTime Web Desk: In the battle of the champions of the I-League and ISL, Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat felt Sunil Chhetri’s missed penalty at the start of the second half made it difficult for his side to mount a comeback in the 2-1 defeat against Chennai City FC in the quarterfinals of the Super Cup.
Chhetri’s spot-kick was thwarted by Chennai City goalkeeper Mauro Boerchio when Bengaluru was trailing 1-0 in the 52nd minute here at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
Pedro Manzi made the Blues pay for it when he doubled his team’s advantage eight minutes later, which proved to be the winner for the I-League champion.
Cuadrat said, “That’s football. It happens. It was the right moment to score. I told my players if we score at the start of the second half, we will turn the game in our favour. It would have been 1-1. Then they scored to make it 2-0, then it’s easy for them. They defend and waste time; normal things in football. We managed to create a lot of chances but our strikers were losing the battle with the goalkeeper.
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The Spaniard felt that Bengaluru was the better side on the night but was undone by two defensive errors. “Honestly, I think we have been the superior side against them. In the pre-season (in September) and today; but it worked for nothing. They ended up winning twice so I have to say congratulations and that your plan worked well. We have to learn from that kind of games. If you are losing, then you have to say the other team played well,” said Cuadrat.
There were no illusions from Chennai City coach Akbar Nawas despite dumping out the defending Super Cup champion. “Bengaluru FC is always the better side. Let’s not kid ourselves. But tactically, we played three different formations to counter them. It’s not easy to play against a team which is so vastly experienced. In the second half, we were a bit afraid to move so tactically, we had to change.
“They have a fantastic team with wonderful players all around from the back to the front. They are the best team we have in Indian football. We needed to study each and every player and I am glad the players stuck to their roles,” said Nawas.