Bagan's temporary coach can't find the reason for the loss, the League-Shield win is a message of struggle despite hard work
Mohun Bagan made it difficult for themselves by losing to Chennaiyin FC at home. In the current situation, they have to win the remaining three matches.
Mohun Bagan’s League-Shield dreams have suffered a setback. Mohun Bagan made it difficult for themselves by losing to Chennaiyin FC at home. In the current situation, they have to win the remaining three matches. Mohun Bagan assistant coach Manuel Perez cannot find the reason for the loss to Chennaiyin. But he admits the road to a League-Shield win has been tough.
On Sunday, Mohun Bagan head coach Antonio Lopez Habas was unwell, so Perez had to take over as coach. In an interview given to the ISL website after the match, Perez said, “Definitely the road to win the Shield has become more difficult for us. We have three matches left. If we get 9 points in these three matches, we can become champions. We needed 10 points before this match. Now need 9 points. Out of that 3 points should be earned against Mumbai as well. The road is difficult, but not impossible.”
Despite being ahead, Bagan had to lose by scoring three goals in the last 25 minutes. However, Perez cannot find any reason why the game suddenly went bad. He said, “I don’t know the reason. If I had known, I would have decided accordingly. Chennaiyin’s 3 points were crucial. That’s how they played. We also needed 3 points. But we couldn’t play that way. Got a good goal in the first half. Many opportunities are missed. But after that the match was not in our control.”
the League-Shield win is a message of struggle despite hard work
After being unbeaten in eight consecutive matches, Mohun Bagan had to lose in the ninth match. Habas sat in the garden dugout in all eight matches. He was not in this match. Habas’s body was so weak that he could not leave the hotel and go to the bar. Perez feels that the team needs to improve in all the departments before the remaining three matches. He said, “We have to improve as a team. It is difficult to talk about one or two things. We have to analyze. It should be corrected later. The entire team is responsible for the loss. So the whole team has to improve.”
Mohun Bagan’s remaining three matches are against Punjab FC, Bengaluru FC and Mumbai. On the other hand, Mumbai will play against Hyderabad FC and Odisha FC before taking on Mohun Bagan. Now with equal number of matches, Mumbai is leading by 2 points. If Mumbai don’t drop the points, they will be in an advantageous position before the final match. And if Bagan wins the next two matches and Mumbai draws at least one match, then the two teams will play on equal footing in the last match.
