BENGALURU: From becoming the first team from the country to reach the AFC Cup final (2016-17) to delivering worst-ever performance by an Indian club at the same competition, Bengaluru FC have had contrasting results at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. For a club that has been India’s flag-bearer in the continental competitions, Wednesday was a devastating night. The Carles Cuadrat’s men fell short 3-4 in the tie-breaker to Maldives’ Maziya Sports & Recreation Club thus becoming the first-ever Indian club to fail to make it to the group stage of the tournament.
Bengaluru have already lost the top spot in the Indian Super League to FC Goa and the AFC Champions League berth. But the recent loss apart from an unconvincing season from the defending ISL champions has put more pressure on the team to win the league title and secure the third continental slot. It will be a mammoth task against ATK as they have not won either of their ties against the Kolkata outfit but the Spaniard believes the players will fight for the title no matter what.
“Pressure is always there in football. The team has seen a lot of success with six titles in six years. But we have also experienced some tough situations at Kanteerava. We were very close on Wednesday losing in penalties. But I trust my players. They never give up. If you see the way they were trying to score until the end, they have a special character. So, we are going to try to reach the ISL final and fight for the trophy again. It may happen or may not but we are going to fight,” said Cuadrat. However, going into the most important two weeks, Cuadrat has to address Bengaluru’s shortcomings. Despite creating chances aplenty, Bengaluru forwards have failed in converting them. They have also failed to close games, conceding in the final few minutes.