ISL 2020-21: Why Antonio Lopez Habas thought Kerala Blasters played well

The 2020-21 Indian Super League season made a scrappy start on Friday when ATK Mohun Bagan emerged 1-0 victors against Kerala Blasters. Both the sides weren’t up to the mark but ATKMB still looked like a more cohesive unit who could have switched on an extra gear or two if they needed in the second half. Meanwhile, Kerala couldn’t create anything on the night and they should be considered lucky to have conceded only one goal.

However, ATKMB manager curiously mentioned that Kerala Blasters played well.

Analyzing the game from ATKMB’s point of view, Habas said: “We had to correct the situation of the central midfielders and the strikers. After the substitution (of Pronay Halder with Manvir Singh), we improved. We had to press the opponents and I feel this result is good for us. Kerala played well but I am very happy with the three points today.”

Why did Habas say that Kerala Blasters played well?

For the majority of the season opener, Kerala dominated the possession statistics. But that was always expected from a Kibu Vicuna-managed side as even Mohun Bagan played a similar possession-based football under him in the I-League last season.

Despite maintaining 67% possession, Kerala Blasters rarely created chances as their attacking midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad looked out of sorts. Even the wingers, Ritwik Das and Nongdamba Naorem worked hard without actually coming up with an end product.

In fact, Sahal and Ritwik fluffed Kerala’s best chances to put their side ahead in their game. Their mediocre returns meant that the lone striker Gary Hooper cut an isolated figure.

Kerala Blasters also made a few mistakes while trying to play out from the back. Center-back Bakary Kone’s poor pass almost gave a massive chance to Roy Krishna in the first half while Sergio Cidoncha played a poor square ball to the ATK players.

Back to the hustle! 💪#YennumYellow pic.twitter.com/6Jm40PCyy5

— K e r a l a B l a s t e r s F C (@KeralaBlasters) November 22, 2020

Positives for Kerala Blasters

This doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Kerala but there are still reasons to be optimistic. Bakary Kone’s center-back partner Costa Nhamoinesu was arguably the side’s best player on the pitch. He didn’t put a foot wrong and seemed comfortable on the ball.

The defensive mid-fielder Vicente Gomez often dropped in between the two center-backs and tightened up the back-line. Overall, considering this was just the first match, even the full-backs Jessel Carneiro and Prasanth Karuthadathkuni put in decent shifts. In fact, Kerala’s few chances came due to some decent crosses from the full-back duo.

Despite his decent performance, Prasanth will definitely not continue as a full-back and it is perhaps good for him too. Kerala signed Nishu Kumar for a hefty contract after acknowledging his ability. The India international Nishu should slot into right-back as soon as he is fit. If Nishu and Rahul KP recover from their injuries soon enough, Vicuna can breathe a huge sigh of relief at least with respect to the right flank as they promise quality.

Hard at work! 💪#YennumYellow pic.twitter.com/h5tz4bntMm

— K e r a l a B l a s t e r s F C (@KeralaBlasters) November 23, 2020

Argentine attacking mid-fielder Facundo Pereyra is also expected to be one of the key players due to the creativity he brings to Kerala’s table. Pereyra didn’t start the match against ATK Mohun Bagan due to lack of training.

This could mean that the Spanish tactician Kibu Vicuna will probably drop Cidoncha and Sahal to the bench in favor of the aforementioned Pereyra and either Jeakson Singh or Rohit Kumar. Jeakson, in particular, impressed for Kerala last season while playing as a defensive mid-fielder.

The highly-rated Nongdamba Naorem is touted to perform well especially after being a key player for Vicuna’s title-winning Mohun Bagan squad in the I-League. Even if he doesn’t perform to expectations, there are also options in the form of Puitea and Seityasen Singh who both came on as substitutes in the first game.

It must also be taken into account that inculcating the philosophy of passing football takes some time when it comes to Indian players. Even in the last season, Kerala Blasters took some time to adapt to Eelco Schattorie’s possession-based football before looking much better in the second half of the season.

Action from Kerala Blasters vs ATK Mohun Bagan clash (Image courtesy: ISL Media)

The lack of a proper pre-season due to Covid didn’t help matters too as all the players have turned up after a long break.

Albeit against a second-string Mumbai City FC side, Kerala Blasters registered a 3-1 victory in a friendly match on Sunday with Facundo Pereyra bagging a brace while Jordan Murray came up with the other goal. While the goals might not mean much in a real-match scenario, the game-time would have really helped a key player like Pereyra to get ready for the next match against Northeast United.

Before the season started, Kerala Blasters were touted to be one of the dark-horses for this season due to the quality and depth in their squad. A 1-0 defeat against ATKMB hasn’t changed that scenario as Kerala Blasters have enough time to make a comeback.

Even Gerard Nus, who is Northeast United’s coach, was well aware of Kerala’s quality.

“No way, we are going to be favorites against the Kerala Blasters. They are going to be even tougher than this one (Mumbai City FC). We are going to give our best but we are not the favorites. They will be stronger and will be in the top of the ladder,” Nus told reporters after their 1-0 victory against Mumbai City FC.

Such praise and acknowledgement from the opposition camps show the quality that Kerala Blasters possess. Whether Kibu Vicuna can harness the talent and lead Kerala to many victories is another subject. On paper, Kerala are still a force to reckon with.