Bengaluru FC secured an emphatic 3-0 win against a disappointing FC Pune City unit, who left a lot to be desired in their first home fixture of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 season. Goals in quick succession by Sunil Chhetri followed by a Miku strike in the second half was more than enough for Carles Cuadrat’s men to attain top spot in the points table. The Stallions, on the other hand, are yet to secure their first win of the season and languish at the bottom end of the league standings.

Post the encounter, Cuadrat took to his media duties in the post-match press conference, where he shared his delight at his players’ commitment. “Very happy with the result. It’s always good for the team to get a clean sheet and also to get some goals. I’m very happy with the intensity of the players. They are giving their best. They have been working very hard and as a coach, you feel very happy that they give all of this spirit for the team and that’s important.”

Udanta Singh was a livewire down the right-hand side of Bengaluru’s attack and the Spaniard had some encouraging words for the youngster. “I’m very happy with Udanta. He’s one of our talented players. He’s always giving very good speed to the team. So, nothing to worry about Udanta. He’s doing his job and he will be important for us this season.”

Having already kept two clean sheets in three matches, Bengaluru have laid down a marker as far as the defensive side of things is concerned. When asked about the same, Cuadrat replied, “I am very happy with the way we were giving intensity to our defenders. We didn’t concede any goal in the first match and we didn’t concede today. In the second match, we conceded two goals, but it was at the end of the game and we were a bit tired. But, I’m very happy with the guys. The intensity of the lads is good and Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) is doing a very good job.”

Cuadrat’s opposite number on the day, Miguel Portugal had an off day in the office. However, the Pune City coach admitted that they played better in the second half, although overall they were the second best on the day. “(In the second half) we played 4-3-3, with four players at the back and three in midfield. I think we played better with 4-3-3. I am happy with this because in the game we had three or four chances to score a goal. But today Bengaluru played well. They had the control of the match.”

Portugal concluded his post-match talk by revealing that the second half performance could be a positive he may look to build upon, but emphasised that there is work to be done on the training pitch. “Every match is a test for the players and also for me. And we must improve. We must improve in all the positions. Today in the second half when we played 4-3-3, we played better than the first half and for me that is satisfying.”

Read the match report here.