New Delhi: Almost on the brink of becoming the first team to be eliminated from the competition, Delhi Dynamos face an uphill task of overcoming high-flying Bengaluru FC when the two square-off at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
The ‘Lions’ started with a bang beating FC Pune 3-2 at their own backyard, but has since then gone on to lose seven of the eight matches they have played and while things looked bright after a gritty 2-2 draw against Chennaiyin, they succumbed to another 1-3 defeat at the hands of Kerala Blasters, which keeps them at last 14 points far from ‘The Blues’ whom they face on Sunday.
Another loss from here may well end their hopes of making it to the play-offs and hence head coach Miguel Angel Portugal minced no words when he said, “For us now this match is like a final.”
“The semi-finals are almost out of our reach and this match is our only chance of keeping the hopes alive. So we have nothing nothing to lose in this game. For us, this match is like a final,” said the Spaniard at the pre-match conference, aware that their chances of making the semi-finals are next to none.
But while Portugal predicted a fearless football from his side, Bengaluru has been playing just that kind of football and lie second, just two points adrift the top-placed Chennaiyin FC.
In a competition where squads are overhauled almost every season, Bengaluru with their shrewd strategy managed to hold on most of their core players. They retained five and after the Player-draft had almost half of their previous squad and coach Roca said that having familiar faces in the camp really helped.
“We were lucky to get many of our fomer players back in the squad. That meant that we had more time to plan our strategies and the familiarity helped the players too,” said the former Barcelona assistant.
They come into the game with two victories against defending champions ATK and Kerala Blasters but Roca despite Delhi’s poor performances remained cautious. “I have a lot of respect for their coach Portugal,” he said. “They have been playing good football but they have been unlucky at the same time. We’ll have to wary of their threats.”
Playing their debut season in the Indian Super League (ISL), ‘The Blues’ have already scored 18 goals in nine fixtures and led by Miku who has netted eight goals this season, they will certainly hope to pounce on the fragile Dynamos defence that has conceded a whopping 24 goals, the highest in the tournament this year.