Table-topper Chennai City FC will look to maintain its stranglehold in the I-League against Mohun Bagan, smarting from a 0-3 drubbing by Churchill Brothers in its previous outing at home.
Akbar Nawas, Singaporean football coach
Kolkata:
The visitor’s Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas would be ever so grateful for the services rendered by his Spanish quartet, in particular by midfielders Nestor Jesus and Sandro Rodriguez, for the position in which it finds itself in. No praise is worthy enough for the kind of performances that Indians like Romario Jesuraj, Lourdusamy and Ajith Kamraj have dished out in the company of the Spaniards.
“We take to every game to compete and see where that leaves us after 90 minutes. That’s what we have set out to do. We take Mohun Bagan as a team seriously and will compete with it as a team,” said Akbar Nawas. Mohun Bagan has been a bit shaky in its approach, which might come back to haunt it at the business end of the league. It had two wins for the taking against Gokulam and Aizawl, but threw them away, despite dominating.
Against Churchill, its defence was thoroughly exposed and coach Sankarlal Chakraborty will have his hands full on Saturday. “Nestor, (Pedro) Manzi belong to a different class. If you go to mark them individually, you are bound to fail. You have to focus on zonal marking and we’ll plan accordingly.”
After having won five of its six games, the Chennai City juggernaut now reaches the home of city giant Mohun Bagan for a clash at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. The visitor is on a dream run while the host is on the back foot after a stunning reverse against Churchill Brothers in the last game.
The visitor’s Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas would be ever so grateful for the services rendered by his Spanish quartet, in particular by midfielders Nestor Jesus and Sandro Rodriguez, for the position in which it finds itself in. No praise is worthy enough for the kind of performances that Indians like Romario Jesuraj, Lourdusamy and Ajith Kamraj have dished out in the company of the Spaniards.
“We take to every game to compete and see where that leaves us after 90 minutes. That’s what we have set out to do. We take Mohun Bagan as a team seriously and will compete with it as a team,” said Akbar Nawas. Mohun Bagan has been a bit shaky in its approach, which might come back to haunt it at the business end of the league. It had two wins for the taking against Gokulam and Aizawl, but threw them away, despite dominating.
Against Churchill, its defence was thoroughly exposed and coach Sankarlal Chakraborty will have his hands full on Saturday. “Nestor, (Pedro) Manzi belong to a different class. If you go to mark them individually, you are bound to fail. You have to focus on zonal marking and we’ll plan accordingly.”