ISL 2018/19: "I would prefer to win the league than being the top scorer," says Miku after Bengaluru FC's win over ATK

Bengaluru FC staged a comeback from a 0-1 deficit to win 2-1 in their away tie against ATK at the majestic Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday evening. With the win, the JSW owned side propelled to the third position in the standings with 10 points from 4 matches.

After trailing for more than 30 minutes in the first half following a strike from ATK’s Komal Thatal, Bengaluru FC restored parity in the dying seconds of the first half. Venezuelan striker Miku scored a mind-blowing goal to make it even before the mid-way break. Erik Paartalu made it 2-1 early in the second half to seal the deal for the visitors.

When asked about his sensational goal, Miku said, “I had confidence. We have a lot of players to take a free-kick. If not me, it would have been Sunil or Juanan. Anyone who has more confidence at the moment. We do not have any problem, everybody knows that we are here to help the team and sometimes I shoot and sometimes others shoot.”

Bengaluru FC lost in the final of the ISL last year, Miku still regrets the loss and aims to win the title in the ongoing season. “Our aim is to win the league, we played well in the last year and we were at the top of the table with the big gap between the second one. But we lost in the final, it was a big disappointment, especially for me. Even though I was the top scorer, I would prefer to win the league,” said Miku.

Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri also felt that Miku’s goal was the turning point of the match. Following the win, Chhetri said: “We are very very happy. It wasn’t easy, especially after getting 1-0 down, it was hard work. They were defensively a very very strong side and it is difficult to break. What a goal by Miku man."

He added: “Also the timing was important, it was just before the halftime. It gave a lot of confidence. We were a little bit desperate after we conceded. The goal gave us a lot of hope and we were calm. The second goal so early (in the second half) also gave us confidence.”