ISL 2018 | Bengaluru FC were better than us tonight, admits Miguel Portugal

FC Pune City fell to their second consecutive loss after they were beaten 3-0 by Carles Cuadrat’s Bengaluru FC at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium on Tuesday night. The win propelled Sunil Chhetri & Co. to the top of the ISL table with seven points while Pune is stuck at number nine with just one point from three games.

And the home team’s coach, Miguel Angel Portugal, was less than pleased with his side’s display as he lavished praise on his opponents in the post-match conference last night. Portugal reckoned the Blues were better than his team on multiple occasions as they capitalised on the home team’s mistakes to walk away with an easy win.

“Bengaluru FC were better than us on the night. They scored the goals in quick succession. They played very well and passed the ball to Dimas (Delgado) most of the time and he had a very good game. We tried but the mistakes committed by our players were big, especially for the first goal. The second goal was due to Sunil’s precision,” Portugal told reporters after the defeat.

However, the European tactician found some positivity in the team’s second-half performance and he believed that he has found the right formation for the team. 

“We switched to a 4-3-3 in the second half but they were just better. I am happy with the 3-4 chances we created in the beginning. We did create chances. There was no lack of opportunities, the problem is regarding how we must play. 

“We have to improve in all positions. I think we played better in the second half after we shifted to a 4-3-3 and I’m happy about that. Even in the match against Delhi, we played well when we played a 4-3-3. I think this (formation) is good for the team,” Portugal added.

The 62-year-old credited his counterpart Carles Cuadrat and the rest of the Bengaluru FC squad for their performance. However, both teams had similar statistics regarding possession, passing, crossing and total shots but Cuadrat’s men were able to convert their chances as compared to the home team.

“Bengaluru’s and our statistics were similar, when you consider the passes, crosses and shots. But the difference was in quality. Miku had two chances and he scored a goal. He is the best player for Bengaluru and has been amazing so far. They also have the best goalkeeper in India and he did very well today.

“Bengaluru had full control of the game but it’s possible that things could have been different if Marcelinho had scored that goal. But I can’t say for sure that we deserved a goal in this game,” he concluded.