Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza shared his pleasure as his team secured a convincing 3-0 win against Mohun Bagan SG in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru in Saturday’s doubleheader.

The Blues maintained their perfect start in the ISL 2024-25 season as they found themselves at the top of the table with three consecutive victories. With this win, Zaragoza’s men became the fifth side to win each of their first three games and just the third team to keep three consecutive clean sheets in the first three matches.

Edgar Mendez, Suresh Singh Wangjam, and Sunil Chhetri were on target as Bengaluru FC eased past the Mariners on their home ground.

The Spaniard anticipated that the title race would be edge closer this season with all teams engaging in the thrilling chase. He is delighted with the fantastic start to this season, and wants to keep going, building on this positive dynamic.

“Let me enjoy. Three games, three wins, and we are happy. But it’s too early. These people (Mohun Bagan SG) will win a lot of matches; Mumbai City FC will be there, and Odisha FC will be there,” Zaragoza said in the post-match press conference.

“A lot of teams are improving this season: Punjab FC, Jamshedpur FC. I think let us enjoy this night, and for tomorrow morning we need to prepare and recover. Because in four days we are going to Mumbai, and (it’ll be) difficult there,” he added.

Despite having experienced heavyweights in the likes of Sunil Chhetri, Rahul Bheke, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, and others, the Blues’ squad is enriched with promising young Indians like Vinith Venkatesh, Sivasakthi Narayanan, and others to form a healthy balance. When quizzed about their versatility in playing style and his players’ performances, Zaragoza remarked,

“Too happy. Because when you have young players. Today, we had four from the bench, and the game was good. No, but when you get these kinds of players like Ryan (Williams), Shivaldo (Singh). It's amazing.”

“It's amazing, but it's not the quality; it's the commitment. How they want, how the team wants. They want to win. We say from the first training session, you need to win every single exercise. Then you know football, you know it's like this,” he continued.

Gerard Zaragoza, who had experienced the Blues’ ISL Cup victory in the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach, felt nostalgic while seeing massive crowd support at the Sree Kanteerava stadium. However, the Spaniard urged his supporters to come in numbers and support the team to enjoy a successful season together.

“Amazing, amazing. You remembered me about 2019. You know, as I said before, to the club’s Instagram, we need more. We need more,” he said.

“I want more people here because they are going to enjoy. Because of these people, they win, lose, or draw. But finally, it's football. But what they enjoy there, how they chant, and they are with the player and everything—I see that all need to come because they are going to enjoy,” he signed off.

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Mohun Bagan Super GiantBengaluru FC2024-2025