Bengaluru FC’s comprehensive 3-0 win at home to FC Goa on Thursday had more than a hint of surprise about it. The Gaurs had been in rampant form both in attack and defence in the weeks leading up to the fixture and looked more than certain to finish on top of the league table.

The Blues on their part, were in the middle of a testing run where wins had become hard to come by. However, what unfolded that Thursday evening was something not many could have imagined as Carles Cuadrat’s men walked away with three points, despite having to play with a man less for more than 45 minutes.

While there were multiple positives for the Blues boss to be happy about, the return to form of forward, Miku must be the standout. The Venezuelan had been enduring a troublesome time ever since his return to the matchday squad following an over three-month long absentee to an ankle injury.

The striker had blanked in three consecutive matches and looked terribly out-of-touch with his finishing and link-up play hardly recognisable. Following the back-to-back losses against Chennaiyin FC and Delhi Dynamos, Cuadrat had a real decision on his hand as Miku’s damaging form was affecting his team’s results.

However, given the Blues’ position on the table, the Spaniard was ready to provide the 33-year-old with time to build up his fitness. In the pre-match press conference before the Delhi fixture, Cuadrat said that he had full faith in Miku’s ability and was ready to wait for his return to fitness. “It is very important, he is getting some minutes now. So, it is the moment to have him in form.”

“He is doing a good job, and for him it is a kind of pre-season because he has not played for a long time. We can all see that he is still not the way he was before he got injured, but he is working to recover that form to be useful for us in the next games.”

There was more of the same from Cuadrat ahead of the Goa tie as the already-qualified Bengaluru searched for momentum. “He’s doing a kind of pre-season. He’s trying to be fit again. You can tell from his numbers and performance that he is not still at the level that he was before the injury. But we still have time. We have two weeks before the first semi-final. So, we hope that he can reach that level in 15 days,” said the 50-year-old.

Riding on the back of this huge trust bestowed upon him by the head coach, the old Miku finally returned with a stellar performance against Goa, capping off with a sensational goal befitting of his earlier self. Leading the line all on his own, the Venezuelan bullied the recently impermeable Gaurs defence while combining well with the likes of Udanta Singh and Dimas Delgado.

The vindicated Cuadrat was full of praise for his No.7 after the match, revealing just how important Miku was when his team went a man down. With the semi-finals looming large, the Spaniard would once again be calling upon his trusted lieutenant to deliver at the biggest stage of the competition yet.

Related tags:

Bengaluru FC Miku2018-2019