Bengaluru FC played out a goalless draw against Southern rivals Chennaiyin FC in Match 78 of Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. Bengaluru could have reduced their deficit with ATK FC and FC Goa at the top of the table to just two points with a win but failed to take the opportunity.

At the post-match press conference, Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat analysed the game and stated, “Well, we were fighting for the three points. We tried our best to win. We had some good chances and made three offensive substitutions in the second half to try and score. But these things happen. It was a nice match to watch and both teams played well. There was a lot of quality on the pitch and both teams wanted to win.”

“We didn’t get the three points but at least we got a point. It will help us finish in the top four,” he added.

Praising his defence for another stellar showing, Cuadrat remarked, “I am very pleased with my defence. Albert Serran and Juanan – our central defenders – have been very good. We have conceded against just four teams. They are doing a wonderful job. We kept our tenth clean sheet today this season, which is a record.”

Referring to the status of the race for the top spot on the back of the night’s result, Cuadrat opined, “We have a match against ATK, but as for Goa, we have to depend on them to drop points. It is very difficult since they are a very good team. I think Goa have a good chance to finish top of the league.”

Sunil Chhetri ended the match as an unused sub. Explaining his rationale behind the move, the Spaniard revealed, “He is not injured. He just has a niggle in his hamstring. So, we didn’t want to risk him.”

Chhetri also received a yellow card after the final whistle for getting into a brief argument with the referee and will consequently miss Bengaluru’s next match. Addressing the incident, the Spaniard noted, “Things get pretty emotional at the sidelines during matches. It was just one of these situations.”

He then dismissed any suggestions that the booking might have had an underlying agenda behind it and said, “We are football people. We were emotional and were fighting for the three points. If decisions went our way, we could have won but we didn’t. Sunil was angry.”

Read the Match Report here.