ISL 2018: 'Memories of Indian Super League final loss against Chennaiyin FC still haunt us,' says Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri
Indian skipper and Bengaluru FC forward Sunil Chhetri and his teammates still regret the fact that they lost the Indian Super League final after dominating the league throughout. The Bengaluru-based side lost to 2-3 Chennayin FC in the final at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Bengaluru FC conceded two of these goals from set-pieces against Chennayin FC, which were unforgivable errors, believes the Blues' captain. The players still remember the loss and the memories still hurt them, even after winning the inaugural Indian Super Cup.
“We knew the format, we cannot complain about that. We dominated each and every team in the ISL, but losing the final due to two corners which were our mistake, it still hurts," said Chhetri at an event organised by Kia Motors, where two children were selected to be ball-boys at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
"After the Super Cup win, we were happy for 30 minutes, but after that, we sat down and thought, ‘What did we miss’. We did not mark the two corners properly; those two corners still haunt us,” Chhetri further said.
Bengaluru FC featured in the Indian Super League for the first time in the 2017/18 season and played exceptional football throughput the league accumulating 40 points in their 18 matches in the group stages with 13 wins, one draw and four losses. They topped the points table by a fair margin compared to the second-placed Channaiyin FC with 32 points, but lost to them eventually in the final.
The fifth edition of the ISL is still months away which will give the Bengaluru FC players ample time to regroup and forget about the ISL loss. The Super Cup has given them a much-needed boost, but they will eye no less than an ISL title next season.