ISL: "We didn't play well today, our opponent outclassed us," says Chennaiyin FC Head Coach Bozidar Bandovic

Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic was displeased with his team's performance after losing 3-0 against Kerala Blasters in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama, Goa on Wednesday.

Jorge Diaz (9') gave KBFC the lead before Sahal Abdul Samad (38') increased the lead, and Adrian Luna (79') put the final nail in the coffin with his first goal of the season.

Marina Machans have now lost two games in the Hero ISL, while Kerala Blasters FC have moved up to the third position in the standings with this win.

After the game, Bandovic spoke to the reporters. Following are some excerpts from his post-match press conference:

On underestimating the Opponents

Bozidar was asked if he underestimated Kerala Blasters before the game, to which he replied, "Of course not. We did know, that there are some teams that are very good. But of course, we as a team didn't play well and the opponent showed more confidence and outclassed us, especially after scoring three goals. But I think we are the ones that didn't play well."

Conceding a Lot of Goals in Last Three Games

Chennaiyin FC have now conceded five goals in the last three games against Mumbai, Odisha and Kerala while they conceded only two in the first four games. Talking about this, Bozidar said, "Of course, the first goal was an open goal, from an open ball. The second goal came when we were under the pressure. Throughout the game we were very stable in the defence today, we didn't press the ball well, we lost all the 50-50 chances. Even in attacking we had a bad day today maybe we can say that the second half was a little better but this is not enough to win the game."

Positives From This Game

There aren't many positives when you lose a match by three goals but Bozidar shared his views, "Of course, there is a positive for that, we know that now for every game we need to be at our 100%. I need to say that, I was waiting for my team to get fresh because we playing games in a very short time. This was our fourth game, but still, this is no excuse because we should play better. We showed in previous games that what we are capable of, it just today wasn't our day."

On the Long Break Before the Next Game

Chennaiyin FC have eight days break before the next match against Bengaluru which is against Bengaluru FC. Talking about this break, Bozidar said, "Yes, of course, it helps to recover the players. Because we had four games in a very short time. And like I said, I was expecting players not to be fresh, but this isn't the excuse for not playing well. This break will help us to recover and to put the team together. And will try to win the next game."

Chennaiyin FC fans and players would certainly want to take advantage of this long break and come back stronger before New Year against Bengaluru FC.