Bengaluru FC's Sunil Chhetri on poor preseason: No shame in conceding goals against Barcelona B

Bengaluru, August 21: Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri feels the team has taken a lot of positives from their preseason tour of Spain.

The Blues played four matches from August 3 to August 14 and all of them ended in defeats to Barcelona B (0-3), Villarreal B (0-1), Shabab Al Ahli (1-5) and Atletico Saguntino (1-2). Chhetri, speaking to reporters ahead of Bengaluru FC's AFC Cup Inter-Zonal Semifinal first leg against Altyn Asyr FK, says the team looked beyond the results from those games.

SC: Playing against Villarreal and Barcelona B we had to tweak our plans and it's prepared us well for our away games. That was an experience that will come handy when we travel. #BENvAAS

— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 21, 2018

"There were a lot of learnings on how we can improve from those four games," Chhetri said on Tuesday (August 21). "That's why our coach Carles Cuadrat chose these teams for our preseason tour. He could have easily chosen four easy teams we could have drawn against them, being happy with our results. Against Barcelona B, we had to defend for 90 minutes and if you are dominated that much, you will concede. There are not many teams in the world who will go to Barca B and not concede. There's no shame in conceding those goals."

While Bengaluru FC are comfortable in handling games against Indian opponents, the clubs they played against in this preseason tour, especially Segunda division sides Barcelona B and Villarreal B, gave them a taste of tough physical games.

"We didn't get any chances in the last two games to be frank," Chhetri said. "I would be happy had we created some chances. As an attacker, you want to create opportunities to score.

"The first goal we conceded against Barca B came out of nowhere. I asked goalkeeper Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) what's wrong and how he let the ball in. He said it went to the top corner and he wasn't even able to track it. The first goal they converted wasn't a half chance. That's the level at which we were tested. We were able to rectify our mistakes. The whole game's level and speed were different. If we play against them regularly, we will improve. We don't experience that kind of strong opposition here. We had to work at a different level to contain them."

SC: I'm not fond of long breaks, because it makes you miss the football. I'm happy that the football season is back and I'm hopeful of having an injury free season ahead. #BENvAAS

— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 21, 2018

The beating in Spain - all four games - has given the high-flying Bengaluru FC lots to think about, especially when it comes to their defence. But most of all, the four defeats have helped BFC work out a way to defend when they are being dominated, Chhetri says.

"I think the first thing we learnt is to defend as a team," Chhetri said. "There were a lot of voices, lot of talking. (Harmanjot) Khabra, Gurpreet, Rino (Anto) were all involved and the way they talked to each other and to us to make sure we all come back and defend was new. We don't do that here generally. Even Miku had to mark a No 6 and he had to come and defend. It will help us if we are down to 10 men (because of a red card). I hope that doesn't happen but if it does, we'll be able to defend and make it tough for our opponents."

Playing those opponents, however, would definitely give Chhetri & Co an edge over their AFC Cup opponents Altyn Asyr, especially when they play away at Ashgabat (Turkmenistan capital) in front of a packed hostile crowd. Altyn Asyr are the Yokary Liga (Turkmenistan's premier division) champions for four years in a row and most of their players represent the country. Chhetri had previously faced them during the 2018 World Cup qualifying round games in October 2015 and March 2016, both of which ended in 1-2 defeats for India. And talking from that experience, Chhetri says the game on Wednesday will be a tough one.

The excitement is palpable! We're a day away from the Blues' @AFCCup Inter-Zone semifinal against Altyn Asyr FK and the Fortress is where you should be. 🎟️Tickets: https://t.co/18iCRr4GDi #BENvAAS #AFCCup2018 🔵 pic.twitter.com/MQ1jiCXMCH

— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 21, 2018

"When they played against the national team, they showed they are a strong side," Chhetri said. "We have got some videos of them and from those, we see that it will not be easy. At home, we back ourselves. We have to be careful and not concede an away goal. But it will not be about them. We will play our match here and we're dominant at home. We, as a team, will make sure we inculcate what we learnt from the preseason in the game."