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Male, Maldives: Bengaluru FC Head Coach Marco Pezzaiuoli maintained there was no pressure on his side as they prepare to face Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings, in their penultimate Group D clash of the 2021 AFC Cup, on Saturday. Kings, who ran out 2-0 winners against Maziya S&RC in their first group stage game, will be eager to get the better of the Blues, who went down to ATK Mohun Bagan by the same scoreline.

An own-goal from Mohammed Irufaan, followed by a strike from Brazilian winger Robinho, sealed three points for Oscar Bruzon’s side in their opening clash against Maziya S&RC. Speaking to the press ahead of the encounter, Blues’ boss Pezzaiuoli said the Bangladeshi side were a force to reckon with, having made light work of their League campaign, which they secured with four games left to play.

“We’re up against a team from Bangladesh that scored 55 goals in the League and are champions. They conceded only nine goals in the League, and won their first group game 2-0. They score a lot of goals and have a strong defence, are compact at the back and counter very well. We might have to change things a little bit because this is our third game. Our plan will be to maybe go backwards a bit and create space behind them to score goals and create chances,” said Pezzaiuoli.

Bashundhara, who made their AFC Cup debut last season in a campaign that was cut short due to the COVID19 pandemic, retained the 2020-21 Bangladesh Federation Cup in January. Pezzaiuoli handed starts to Ajay Chhetri and Naorem Roshan Singh in the clash against ATK Mohun Bagan, while Leon Augustine, Parag Shrivas and Ajith Kumar came off the bench in addition to summer signings Bidyashagar Singh and Danish Farooq.

“In life you cannot be negative. I choose to take the positives from the previous game where we had almost 70% ball possession against ATK Mohun Bagan. I think we only need to improve in certain aspects. There is no pressure. Football is not about pressure. We enjoy the games, and I am sure every team wants to be the number one in the Group. We want to win, and so do Bashundhara Kings. We have worked hard in training, and focused on certain things. We want to better our free-kicks and corners, and create better chances and finish them,” Pezzaiuoli added.

Having made several new foreign signings in Raul Becerra, Jonathan Fernandes, Khaled Shafiei and Robinho (on loan from Fluminense), the Blues will have to be wary of Bashundhara Kings’ attack, with the BPL side scoring as many as 67 goals in all competitions this season.

Kick off between the Blues and Bashundhara Kings at the National Stadium is scheduled for 4.30 pm IST, and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports network, Hotstar and JioTV.

(Bengaluru FC Media)

Bengaluru: A goal in either half, from Roy Krishna and Subhasish Bose, meant a first defeat for Bengaluru FC under Marco Pezzaiuoli, in the Group D opener of the 2021 AFC Cup, at the National Stadium, in Maldives, on Wednesday.

Marco Pezzaiuoli made two changes to the side that defeated Club Eagles, as Naorem Roshan Singh and Ajay Chhetri replaced Ashique Kuruniyan and Rohit Kumar. The Mariners, who had a busy summer transfer window, handed debuts to Amrinder Singh, Hugo Boumous and Deepak Tangri, while fellow new signings Liston Colaco, Bidyananda Singh, Ashutosh Mehta, Ricky John Shabong, Abhishek Suryavanshi and Kiyan Nassiri found themselves on the bench.

The Blues’ first effort of the game came with just four minutes on the clock when Suresh Wangjam and Roshan combined down the left flank to find Cleiton Silva, who picked out an unmarked Jayesh Rane with space outside the area. The midfielder’s effort, however, sailed wide of the post.

ATK MB’s first real opportunity of the game came midway through the first half when Boumous broke free on a counter-attack, shrugged off a challenge from Wangjam and managed to get a shot on target. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, however, got a strong hand to the strike and parried away.

Just past the half hour mark, the Mariners broke free again through Boumous, who played Krishna through down the left flank. The Fiji international’s attempted pass to David Williams was deflected into the Frenchman’s path, whose effort was blocked away Gurpreet’s outstretched leg. Antonio Habas’ side broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, with three foreign players combining. Carl McHugh’s header from a Boumous corner was diverted goalward from point-blank range by Roy Krishna, past a hapless Gurpreet.

Looking to get back into the game, the Blues made a change at the break as Danish Farooq replaced Ajay Chhetri. However, the Mariners doubled their lead just moments after the restart, when Williams found Subhasish in the middle of the box, who turned to find space and smashed the ball low and into the far corner.

Bengaluru’s first chance of the second period came in the 52nd minute, when Cleiton Silva’s swerving effort from the edge of the box forced Amrinder into a good save after Roshan and Wangjam had combined once again in attack.

Leon Augustine, on as a substitute for skipper Sunil Chhetri, looked to make a mark, but his run in the 77th minute was cut short by Sumit Rathi, who picked up a yellow card for the challenge. Cleiton’s effort from the resulting free-kick sailed off-target, without troubling Amrinder.

With ATK MB happy to sit back and defend their lead, the Blues threw men forward and dominated possession in the closing stages, but couldn’t find a way past the Mariners’ stubborn backline. Habas made further changes to his side as Bidyananda Singh and Liston Colaco made their bows, closing out what was a tough afternoon for the Blues in Asia.

The Blues will be back in action on August 21, when they take on Bashundhara Kings in their next group stage game, at the same venue.

(Bengaluru FC Media)

Male, Maldives: Bengaluru FC, on Sunday, will resume their bid to qualify for the group stages of the 2021 AFC Cup with a playoff clash against Maldivian side Club Eagles, at the National Stadium, in Male. A win will take Marco Pezzaiuoli’s men into Group D of the continental competition, where ATK Mohun Bagan, Bashundhara Kings and Maziya S&RC await.

Bengaluru, who made it through the Preliminary Stage Two with a comprehensive 5-0 win against Tribhuvan Army FC, landed in the Maldives earlier this week and began preparations for the clash. Should the Blues see off the Eagles, they will face ATK Mohun Bagan in their opening clash of Group D on Wednesday, August 18th.

“It’s not an easy situation to play in. This is the second time we are preparing for this game. We had a good four-week preparation at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary, where we stayed in a bubble. It was a great facility with a fantastic ground, and now we are here in Maldives in another bubble,” said Pezzaiouli, speaking at the pre-match press conference.

The Blues have registered seven new signings in their AFC Cup squad, including defenders Alan Costa and Yrondu Musavu-King, while four more players from the club’s developmental squad have also made the cut.

“We are missing a few players for the game against Club Eagles. Prince Ibara has an infection and he hasn’t joined the team, Edmund Lalrindika has a back injury and Harmanpreet Singh has a muscle issue. I have 26 players available for selection and we want to make it to the next stage of this competition,” he added.

Eagles, in their maiden AFC Cup campaign, made their way to the playoff round of the competition owing to Abahani Dhaka’s withdrawal. Head Coach Mohaamed Shaazly’s side had progressed through the Preliminary Stage One with a 2-0 win over Thimphu City, courtesy goals from Hassan Ahmed and Mohammed Naim. In their recently concluded League season, Eagles finished fourth, with four wins, five defeats and five draws.

“We’re really thankful that we can finally play a match, and we are really looking forward to the game. We are just focusing on our team, and as players we are all eager to fight for a place in the first XI and give our coach a selection headache. After last season’s defeat to Maziya, we weren’t feeling well because we didn’t give our best. But this is a new campaign and we will strive to do our best,” said Blues’ skipper Sunil Chhetri.

Kick-off between the Blues and Club Eagles at the National Stadium, in Maldives, is at 8.30 PM IST.

(Bengaluru FC Media)