The 2-1 win against Odisha FC helped Bengaluru FC move to the fifth spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) points table and keep their play-off hopes alive.
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Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli was delighted with his side’s performance in the hard-fought 2-1 victory against Odisha FC in Bambolim on Monday. Although OFC took the lead through Nandakumar’s early strike, the Blues secured all three points courtesy of goals from Danish Farooq and Cleiton Silva. The win helped BFC move to the fifth spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) points table and keep their play-off hopes alive.
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The Blues are back to winning ways at the Bambolim. ⚡️ #WeAreBFC #BFCOFC #ComeTogether pic.twitter.com/Ah6PTRkalT
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) February 21, 2022
“All the players that we have in our group can be the first choice and I believe in my players. In training, everybody is very good and everybody who is coming inside is the first choice. And why I did it today, we played three days ago and I wanted to have some fresh legs in the team. Against Hyderabad Udanta was out, in the last game we had Prince out and today we have Sunil out.” said Marco Pezzaiuoli in a post-match press conference, as per the ISL website.
“We have good strikers on the bench but to refresh legs for the season of injury and Yaya had the first game after almost three months break and I didn’t want to have a muscle injury,
“Usually, I protect players and that’s why when the game is three days later I think it’s enough to play thirty minutes and lower the risk of getting an injury. That’s why I made this decision,” he added.
The win took BFC to 26 points from 18 games, just one point behind fourth-placed Kerala Blasters FC who have two games in hand and six behind Hyderabad FC who have played 17 matches. BFC’s victory has put pressure on the top four and also sixth-placed Mumbai City FC, who are just point behind the Blues with two games in hand.
The Blues would need to secure maximum points from their remaining two games and hope other results go their way to earn a top-four finish. The German tactician wants his players to give their best in the final two games and keep their heads up, he said “ I told the players the importance for us to look in the mirror, you give your best and when we win it is good because when we look in the mirror we didn’t give our best.
“We cannot be happy at the end of the season, maybe we reach the top four, maybe not, but we need to look in the mirror and say okay we did our best in the season
“Sometimes we were unlucky and that you see after the season but I think let’s enjoy the win today. 2-1, great goals, great penalty situation for Udanta, winning the ball in a pressing situation
“ The pressing was great. In the second half we won the ball out of a pressing situation and also I think, normally the foul on Udanta must be a red card. It was really clear he was not going on the ball. It’s not the only foul. This was more than a foul, it was killing the legs. And that was not really nice. And I think there must be a different decision from the.”
BFC will next play third-placed ATK Mohun Bagan at Fatorda Stadium before taking on SC East Bengal in their final league fixture of the season.
