'ATK Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City will fight for ACL spot' - Bengaluru boss Carles Cuadrat to focus on getting to the playoffs

Bengaluru succumbed to their third consecutive defeat in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) as they went down 1-3 against Mumbai City on Tuesday.

The Blues head coach Carles Cuadrat suggested after the match that his side lacks consistency and he has given up on fighting for the top spot in the standings which could get them an AFC Champions League slot.

"We have to improve in a lot of different aspects," said Cuadrat after the match. "We know that some of our players are not in their best shape. Some have muscle issues and some like Ashique. He was one of our fittest players at that moment of the season but that is not an excuse. With the squad, we have, honestly ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City are more consistent. As a club, we have to understand that our role is to try and play for the play-offs because ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai are going to fight for the Champions League slot."

Bengaluru were completely overwhelmed by a dominant Mumbai City at the beginning of the match as the Islanders scored twice within 15 minutes. The Spanish coach suggested that they had come prepared for such a situation but unfortunately their plan of charging at Mumbai with counter-attacks did not work due to their profligacy in front of the goal.

"We had our match plan. We were ready for that kind of a game but the real truth is they played very well. They knew where the spaces were and our plan was to try and be compact and go out for counter-attacks with fast players like (Deshor) Brown, Suresh (Wangjam), Cleiton (Silva) and Sunil (Chhetri). But we couldn't score the chances we created, it was not our day.

"They got the advantage in the first 15 minutes and then it became difficult for us. The guys put a lot of effort and had the attitude and we were close to giving them trouble at 2-1 but Mumbai City deserve the three points."

Cuadrat pointed out that the decision to change the backline which had conceded the least number of goals last season has affected the performance.

"The change of players makes me try and teach the new players to play the game in the way we want them to play. The club this season decided to change the defence and our defence was the best last season and did not concede many goals. I have to respect the decisions, I am a worker at the club and the club decided to release Nishu Kumar and Albert Serran.

"My job is to teach the new players to try to understand the way we play. It is a hard job and I love it. We have to keep going and improving and try to be competitive."