ISL: "We need to bring the ball inside," claims Bengaluru FC coach Marco Pezzaiuoli

Bengaluru FC once again failed to bag home full points as they suffered a cagey 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League 2021-22. Following the dramatic draw, Marco Pezzaiuoli spoke about their worries, woes and areas to improve.

Sunil Chhetri and co. were held in a late 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters. The Blues being very wasteful upfront could register only one goal, as late as the 84th minute when Aashique Kuruniyan slotted one past Albino Gomes. The celebrations were short-lived as a howler or Aashique himself forced the Blue to share the spoils with Southern Derby rivals.

On taking off Sunil Chettri

While the Indian skipper had some quite average performances in the last three games, being asked Marco Pezzaiuoli denied to have taken him off in the second half because of performance issues. He said: "It was the third game for Sunil and I had almost four strikers on the bench so I wanted to bring some fresh minds into the game with new creativity and when there is a third game I think it's very important to bring fresh guys because we have a good squad as well. "

On the team's performance

Answering to the queries of the team performance, which seemed quite ordinary that night, gaffer Pezzaiuoli was quoted saying :

"We are disappointed because we scored a goal in the 84th minute, although we had a chance from Cleiton Silva before. We dominated the game but didn't create much chances which I think is a big issue. But it's difficult to play against an opponent who stays deep close. While creating chances you have to be very patient and we were very careless in the end and the goal. When you give pressure and dominate the game, in the end may be opponent would make a mistake."

Further speaking on specifically the attacking performances of the team, Pezzaiuoli added:

"Attacking is very important every time. Especially in the first half, we passed through a lot of times but we didn't get a goal as we took too long to make the last pass when the striker was waiting. I think when striker goes in good positions, we need to get in the right places at the last moment but we try to dribble and cut backwards. We need to bring the ball inside"

Importance of Cleiton Silva

Cleiton Silva was definitely the best man on the pitch for Blues. Although he lacked finishing, Silva created a lot of chances for his side. Talking of Silva's importance, the boss asserted:

"Cleiton is important that why I keep him inside. He is important for the freekicks and his defensive work during set-pieces is really important. I think when Prince (Ibara) came inside, he made a lot of actions in the defense line with his deep runs and Sivashakti ( Narayan) who also made his debut, I think to have young guys who play so well."

Aashique Kuruniyan's performance

Aashique Kuruniyan had a brilliant turnaround from a rather disappointing game when he scored the opener for the Blues. But minutes later, his heroics went down the line as his howler handed the yellow army an equalizer in just four minutes. As Pezzaiuoli spoke of his performance, he stated:

"I think Aashique did well, better than the last two games. It is a nice goal for him, it's good for him. He knows he has the right foot. Ofcourse the goalkeeper helps him, but he still needs to improve his crosses. He needs to put earlier crosses in the box but I think he had the best game of the last three games."