Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli has dismissed concerns around skipper Sunil Chhetri's form following his team's defeat at the hands of FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) match.
Bengaluru FC was pushed near the bottom place as FC Goa handed the Blues a third consecutive defeat, emerging 2-1 winners at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Saturday.
FC Goa proved to be the dominant side after an intense battle to clinch the three points on offer went down the wire with a goal in the 70-minute mark by Devendra Murgaonkar sealing it for the hosts
Chhetri is yet to score this season and missed a well-made chance on Saturday as he blazed over from close range in the 18th minute of the game.
"He is a human being. Sometimes you don't have luck going for you. With the national team, he had a lot of luck as the ball fell to him many times and he scored five goals. Today (Saturday) he had a great chance and if he scores it's 1-1," said Pezzaiuoli in the post-match press conference as per the ISL website.
"Normally he would score that with his eyes closed. In this hard time, he has the support of the team and also how he worked for the team was good. He needs more luck inside the box. It happens when you don't work but with him, he is working and it will come back.
"I don't think we should be talking a lot about Sunil. I don't pick one player out. We lost today as a team and that I feel is the important part," he added.
This was a second consecutive victory for the Gaurs in a match that saw two red cards and eight yellow cards. Bengaluru's Pezzaiuoli admitted it was a "tough" match for their side.
"First of all, we came back well. It was a tough game after we went down 0-1 but we came back with a nice goal from Cleiton to make it 1-1. In the second half we lost a bit of our minds after we had the numerical advantage. We didn't keep possession and started to play with long balls. So usually when you have one player more, you don't win games," said Pezzaiuoli
"It was a good game from us after half-time. We had control over FC Goa completely and we also created chances. But after the first five minutes, we stopped investing in the game as much as before. That was why we lost the game," he added. (ANI)
FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando expressed joy for his players after the win.
"I think the first half the team was good, it was a good performance. We had chances, were better in position and attack, better in position in defence. After 1-1, it was a difficult moment for the team and when we started the second half, the team was not in confidence. After the red card, the team was in a very difficult situation but I think they changed the score because of the spirit of the team, the character was very good," said Juan Ferrando in a post-match press conference.
"In this case, I am very happy for the players, and also the line-up and also the players in substitutions because they looked after the team. After 2-1, the team was put a lot of attention in defence, and they got the three points, very happy for this," he added.
Talking about the new aspects of the game, the head coach said that the team needs to work on their transition.
"The transitions are very important in football when our style is to play in attack. At the end, it is very important to control the transitions. Sometimes, we have made mistakes… mistakes because our focus was not in place, sometimes when the reactions of the players are not good and on time and then this is the problem. It is not so easy because in high-level, in Europe, in the Champions League, you see these problems and imagine in this case our team," said the head coach.
FC Goa will lock horns with Hyderabad FC on Saturday in a week's time while Bengaluru FC awaits the challenge of ATK Mohun Bagan on Thursday, the outfit which is winless in their last three matches too.
Bayern come from behind to beat gutsy Mainz 2-1 and widen gap
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Mainz 05 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with goals from Kingsley Coman and Jamal Musiala, to go six points clear at the top.
The Bavarians, who have managed just two clean sheets in their last 10 league games, are on 37 points and are almost guaranteed to be top of the table going into the three-week winter break after next weekend.
It was Julian Nagelsmann's 100th Bundesliga win as a coach, and, at 34 years, he is the youngest coach to reach that mark
Bayern are in action again on Tuesday against VfB Stuttgart.
"We made our own life difficult in the first half," said Bayern's Thomas Mueller. "There are always games like that and Mainz are a top team, the way they are playing these days."
"They had prepared really well for the game and you could see that they were prepared for our twists and transitions. They were aggressive."
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund are on 31 following their 1-1 draw at VfL Bochum.
Bayern, fresh from a midweek Champions League group win over Barcelona, dominated from the start but it was Mainz who scored against the run of play with Karim Onisiwo heading in after 22 minutes.
The Bavarians, who beat title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-2 last week, kept pressing high and gained possession but they could not make their advantage count against Mainz, who under Danish coach Bo Svensson are having their best season in 11 years.
France international Coman had a big chance to level in the 49th when he found himself unmarked in front of goal but he headed the ball straight to keeper Robin Zentner.
He did much better in the 53rd, controlling a deep Corentin Tolisso cross with a brilliant first touch and slotting in through the legs of Zentner to level.
The hosts bagged the win with Musiala's clever shot in the 74th.
Late Brandt goal rescues draw for wasteful Dortmund at Bochum
Borussia Dortmund needed an 85th minute equaliser by Julian Brandt despite dominating throughout to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw at promoted VfL Bochum on Saturday as they fell six points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Brandt bagged a fully deserved leveller after Bochum had taken the lead in the 40th minute with a Sebastian Polter penalty.
Second-placed Dortmund, with suspended coach Marco Rose in the stands, avoided a second straight loss but dropped further behind in the title race on 31 points with Bayern on 37.
Bayer Leverkusen, in third place on 27, travel to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Bochum are in 10th place on 20 points.
"We had enough good chances to win this game," scorer Brandt said. "But if you don't use them then at the end of the match you only have a point.
"Not scoring was not just bad luck. You have to want to score and we had enough chances but we were not precise enough," he added.
Dortmund enjoyed a strong start and Jude Bellingham missed a golden chance to put his team in front when he only had Manuel Riemann to beat but the goalkeeper flicked his shot wide with a reflex save.
Erling Haaland was then denied by Riemann a little later, with Bochum putting up a fight in their mini Ruhr valley derby.
Despite the pressure it was the hosts who scored first, with Polter's well-taken penalty after Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel had brought down Christopher Antwi-Adjei in the box.
The hosts, who lost 3-2 at home to Bayern last week, shot out of the blocks after the break and carved out chance after chance.
Marius Wolf thought he had scored the equaliser in the 53rd only to be overruled by a VAR review for offside.
Bochum were desperately hanging onto their slim lead with Dortmund by the 85th minute having fired 21 shots on goal compared to the hosts' three.
The visitors were finally rewarded with their 22nd shot on goal when Norway striker Haaland fed Germany international Brandt who scored from a tight angle.
Dortmund next host bottom club Greuther Fuerth on Wednesday.
