ISL 2018: Knockout kings Bengaluru FC to show intent against FC Pune City in semi-final second leg

Bengaluru, March 10: September 2016. Albert Roca had just taken over Bengaluru FC from Ashley Westwood and his immediate task was to guide the Blues into the AFC Cup semi-finals. They were up against Tampines Rovers of Singapore, a side which had an influencial figure in former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Jermaine Pennant. CK Vineeth, now with Kerala Blasters, scored in the seventh minute of the game at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. For the rest of the 83 minutes, and the 90 minutes in Singapore, Bengaluru FC just managed to keep the ball among themselves. They squeezed through 1-0 over the two legs and it was Roca's first experiment at playing possession football with a team that had played an attacking English style all along.

Fast forward to the Indian Super League 2018 and you could say Bengaluru FC have mastered the art of tackling knockout matches. The first leg would be a dull encounter - like the one against Transport United of Bhutan - but their intent becomes clear in the second fixture. The situation facing them on Sunday (March 11) in their ISL semi-final second leg against FC Pune City is no different. The first leg ended goalless on March 7 at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune and Bengaluru FC have all to play for in the second leg at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium - a spot in the ISL final for the league toppers which will more or less seal the debate that they are the most dominant force currently in Indian football.

Over five other two-legged knockout matches since then, BFC have either pushed for an early advantage if playing at home or tried to score an away goal in the first leg. Be it against Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia, 4.25 Sports Club of North Korea or Transport United of Bhutan, the first leg has never settled the game for BFC. Their only other defeat in a two-legged knockout match came against FC Istiklol of Tajikistan in the AFC Cup Inter-Zonal final.

"Pune has a good team and players who can attack," Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca during the pre-match press conference on Saturday (March 10). "Back in Pune, we wanted to walk away with a clean sheet. That could - you know, give us not just an advantage - but options for the way we can play our game in Bengaluru. We wanted to score but it was impossible with the way they were playing and we too were not that good. We need to be aware of the conditions and be consistent in our performance. We have to try to attack and take advantage of the situation in all these aspects."

Bengaluru FC in knockout matches under Albert Roca

1-0, 0-0 vs Tampines Rovers - win

1-1, 3-1 vs Johor Darul Ta'zim - win

0-1 vs Air Force Club - loss

1-2 vs Al Wehdat - loss

3-0, 0-0 vs 4.25 Sports Club - win

0-1, 2-2 vs FC Istiklol - loss

0-0, 3-0 vs Transport United - win

3-2, 5-0 vs TC Sports Club - win

0-0, ? vs FC Pune City - ?

In both the league games of the ISL, Ranko Popovic's FC Pune City managed to break the deadlock first. But on Sunday, expect Bengaluru FC to prod Pune City early on - it's their game.

Pune will however be happy to welcome back Popovic to the touchlines after his initial suspension was provisionally withdrawn by the disciplinary committee of the AIFF.

Yet, Pune are confident of breaking the home side with some sparkling attack by strikers Marcelinho and Emiliano Alfaro. One away goal early in the game and they know they can turn it around.

"You know in football, we don't need to talk about the past and future. We played a draw but tomorrow is a new game. Our players know this. Marko Stankovic gave a great performance last time around - he was the best - but tomorrow he must try again. Tomorrow can be a different game but we know what we have to do. We want to follow our plans. We know how strong they are. I repeat, we want to win this game so that we come back here in a week's time and play the final," Pune City assistant coach Vladica Grujic said.

Albert Roca is likely to employ both John Johnson and Juanan Gonzalez at the back to counter the two Pune foreign strikers. Their own foreign forward, Miku, will partner up front with captain Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh/Boithang Haokip.

"Obviously we're under pressure," Roca added. "But we have to accept the truth. It's a human being's basic emotions to feel pressure. But we have some trait which will allow us to win. We have given options to others to win the title even though we're the league leaders. We've to accept this reality otherwise it's going to be wrong for us. We've to go ahead and do our best. We've finished first in the league and are in the playoff now. We got a good away result and it's all in our hands tomorrow. The players have to accept the challenge and do their best."

That in itself sounds like a plan for Bengaluru FC. Now, over to the Sree Kanteerava.

Where to watch:

Bengaluru FC vs FC Pune City

Indian Super League semi-final second leg

Live from Sree Kanteerava Stadium

At 8 pm (Sunday, March 11)

On Star Sports 2 and Hotstar