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Delhi Dynamos head coach Miguel Angel Portugal criticised his players ahead of their home game against NorthEast United FC, saying that they need to execute the plans properly on the pitch, in order for the side to win games.
The side from the capital city may have gotten off to a brilliant start to their ISL 2017 campaign with a 3-2 victory over FC Pune City, but a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Bengaluru FC brought them back to earth with a 4-1 drubbing in their second game.
One concerning thing that Delhi came up against Bengaluru was defending set-pieces. While Portugal did say that he was working on how his defenders would negotiate the set-pieces, he also mentioned they must execute the plans, in order for things to work out.
“It’s all ok for me to make plans for the set-pieces. However, what matters is that the players execute these on the pitch,” said Portugal. “They have to win the duels during the match. If we win the duels, we can win the match.”
Speaking about the 4-1 drubbing that Bengaluru FC dished out to Delhi, Portugal said that despite the scoreline, his side had better possession. However, he did concede that possession is not everything in football.
“They started that match with more intensity. We had much more possession against them in that game,” he said. “A possession-based game is always good philosophically, but it is no good if you can’t score.”
Portugal revealed ahead of the match that his side has a few injury concerns, heading into the game against NorthEast United FC. However, he chose not to name the players who are doubtful for the game.
“Yes, we have certain players who are injured, but we are looking at the possibilities of how to replace them for tomorrow’s game,” said Portugal. “It’s better that I do not reveal their names right now.”
However, the Delhi coach signed off by assuring one and all that despite these recent setbacks, his side will be playing for a win against NEUFC. Three points in this game will certainly shoot them up to the higher echelons of the ISL table.
