"Manvir Singh has to improve in his regularity" - ATK Mohun Bagan coach Antonio Lopez Habas
ATK Mohun Bagan cruised to a dominating 4-1 win over Odisha FC in their 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim. Manvir Singh registered a brace with his strikes in the 11th and 55th minute. Roy Krishna put the cherry on the cake with his goals in the 83rd and 86th minute.
ATK Mohun Bagan dominated the proceedings in the first half of the game. Manvir Singh angled his shot perfectly into the far post with his left foot. Later, Odisha FC's goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh produced a fine save to deny Marcelinho from a one-on-one situation.
However, Odisha FC steered back in the last fifteen minutes of the first half and scored an equalizer through Cole Alexander.
"In the first 25-30 minutes, we played good football. But after that, we slipped for the last fifteen minutes before half time. The opponent drew and after that, I feel that we performed better and we deserved the score," said ATK Mohun Bagan coach Antonio Lopez Habas after the match.
Previously, Manvir Singh donned the role of a bench-warmer for FC Goa and scored only three goals in three seasons. However, after making the move to ATK Mohun Bagan, the Indian international has improved his game massively. Manvir has already scored four goals this season and is only behind Sunil Chhetri in the list of leading Indian goalscorers.
"Manvir (Singh) is an important player for us. We have absolute confidence in Manvir. He has to improve in his regularity. He is playing differently in different matches. In one day, he is getting 10 points and the other day only 5. This is the challenge for Manvir now," Habas further added.
"Our first objective is to qualify for the playoffs" - ATK Mohun Bagan coach Antonio Lopez Habas
Pronay Halder will miss ATK Mohun Bagan's next match against Bengaluru FC as he picked up his fourth yellow card. However, Antonio Lopez Habas is not worried about his absence as he has confidence in his bench.
"We have players to substitute him. Carl McHugh will be recovered for the next match as he got his fourth yellow card earlier," Habas said.
ATK Mohun Bagan is breathing down the neck of Mumbai City FC for the summit position in the points table. The winner of the league stages of ISL will get a chance to represent India in the AFC Champions League. However, Habas has his eyes set only on the playoffs at the moment.
"Our first objective is to qualify for the playoffs. Then, we can think of the other possibility that is the top spot in the league. We need to win regularly for that," he signed off.