Bengaluru FC got their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) adventure off to a winning start by beating Mumbai City FC 2-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Eduardo Garcia broke the deadlock for the Blues in the second half before Sunil Chhetri sealed the points against his former side late in the game.

Bengaluru head coach Albert Roca hailed the atmosphere at the stadium, while speaking to the media at the post-match press conference. “The atmosphere was really good in the stadium and it is very important for the club and the city to see the fans coming out to support us. On the other hand, it is important for us to keep winning in order for more fans to come and support us as they deserve that, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship [with] along the way which will only lift up the club and city,” he said.

Garcia scored his goal from a short corner and if the Bengaluru head coach’s words are anything to go by then set-pieces are something the Blues work a lot on in training. “Of course, we do a lot of set piece training and it paid off by giving the players confidence to translate the same on the ground thus giving us a goal today. We will continue to do so as it helps open the game and helps us create more chances. It is a long race ahead and we have to be prepared for all battles,” Roca said.

When asked if he thought the score-line was a fair reflection of his side’s performance, the Spaniard said: “All the teams are good so considering that, it is not always easy to score many goals. Mumbai have a really good defence, so we tried to create as many chances as possible and I am happy with the result. We do have strikers that are a class apart, so we will definitely try to get as many goals as possible [in the future].”

One individual who found himself in several good goal-scoring positions without finding the back of the net was Venezuelan striker Miku. Roca, however, was pleased with his overall performance. “Miku played really well and deservingly got a standing ovation. He has played in the Spanish league and is an outstanding player. He didn’t score but proved to be a threat overall and that proves that strikers do more than just score and with such an attitude we look forward to winning all our upcoming games,” he said.

Roca also praised the versatility of full-back Rahul Bheke. “Rahul is an amazing player. He can play on the wings as well as a full-back, which is an advantage [for us because] we can try out other players in different positions. He played really well and with such performances from our entire squad we [can only] look forward to great results,” he added.