Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza voiced his pleasure at securing a berth in the Indian Super League (ISL) final after beating FC Goa 3-2 on aggregate in the first semi-final.

The Blues came into the second leg with a crucial two-goal cushion, courtesy of their clinical win in Bengaluru in the reverse fixture. Despite the Gaurs leveling the aggregate score through Borja Herrera’s free-kick goal and substitute Armando Sadiku’s headed equalizer, Sunil Chhetri’s flying header in injury time saw Bengaluru FC qualify for the ISL Cup final for the fourth time in the club’s history.

Zaragoza acknowledged FC Goa’s offensive strength and opined that the game went as he had anticipated. The Spaniard had words of praise for players like Sunil Chhetri and Ryan Williams, who started on the bench but ended up playing pivotal roles after coming on.

“The first half was exactly like what we expected. They (FC Goa) wanted to enter the game, and then we tried to control everything. They did crosses and shots, but nothing special. We wanted to finish the first half like this, 0-0, or at least score one goal. I think the first goal of them arrived too early, and that provoked us to defend, defend, defend,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“We really have a lot of players who are tired or injured. We had, in this case, Ryan (Williams) on the bench. Also, if it was a normal game, Noguera was not playing. But it's a game that he needs to play. We had Suresh with an injury, and Rahul (Bheke) also had a little bit of an injury. But when you have players like Ryan Williams and Sunil Chhetri, you can change them, put them in the second half, and kill the game at that moment. They kill the game, and as a coach, it’s amazing,” he added.

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Bengaluru FC were seen defending in numbers throughout the second half. Despite conceding two goals in the latter half, the visitors stood strong, displayed their grit and perseverance, and capitalized on their chance as super-sub Chhetri sealed their spot in the final with a goal to remember.

Speaking in context, Zaragoza said, “Football is about this. It's about these inches, to be at the right moment in the right second, and Sunil Chettri is like this.

"For that, we have him; we have these amazing foreigners. For us, we have this amazing defensive Indian line and the best goalkeeper in India.”

With this result, Bengaluru FC march on to their ISL Cup final for a record fourth time. Zaragoza shared his pleasure on reaching the title-deciding match, which will be played on April 12.

“We are BFC. We need to remember that we are 10 years in ISL, and we have played four finals. That says a lot, and now we are there,” he stated.

“My concentration now is on (having a) party this night. That's my concentration. Then we need to recover. We need to recover a lot. And then, our idea: we want to play at home. We want to play at the Kanteerava,” he signed off.