ISL 2023-24: We didn’t control the match at all – Mohun Bagan’s Samuel Perez after loss against Chennaiyin FC

Mohun Bagan Super Giant assistant coach Manuel Perez shared his disappointment after their 2-3 loss against Chennaiyin FC in the 20th match week of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday.

Finnish footballer Joni Kauko gave the lead to the Mariners in the 29th minute. However, Jordan Murray equalized for the Marina Machans in the 72nd minute.

Ryan Edwards then gave the lead to the visitors in the 80th minute. But Mohun Bagan bounced back strongly as Dimitri Petratos scored through a spot kick in the stoppage time. However, Chennaiyin FC was able to bag all three points after Irfan Yadawad scored in the last minutes of injury time to give a thrilling win to his team.

“It is difficult to analyse (the game). We didn’t have a good game overall. We were leading in the first half,” Perez said in the post-match press conference.

“It was a difficult and strange situation. We were attacking but didn’t control the match at all. That is not interesting for us,” he said.

“Now it is not the moment to make excuses. It is the moment to watch the game again, talk to the head coach, talk to the players and analyse the game,” Perez continued further.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata giants had 55.2% possession and also took 12 shots on target but ended up on the wrong side of the result.

“I don’t know the reason. I will act in consequence about that. They (Chennaiyin FC) were playing against us with the need of the three points. And in the first half, as I said to you before, we didn’t play that well. We scored a good goal. We had a few chances but we never had control of the game,” he shared.

This loss gave a huge blow to Mohun Bagan’s chances of winning the League Shield, making the remaining three matches as must-win affairs.

“It (Winning the League Shield) will now be more difficult but it’s in our hands. We have three games remaining. We need the nine points to become the champions,” he commented.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant will next lock horns against Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.