It is too early to term BFC as favourites: Guimaraes

BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC might have been labelled as favourites to win this year's title but Mumbai City head coach Alexandre Guimaraes said it is too early to term the ISL debutants as front-runners as there are many more games to go in the tournament.

"Many people are saying that (BFC are hot favourites to win the title) because they maintain good core players and fluidity of their game is more advanced than other teams. However, this is just the beginning," he told reporters."There are too many games to go. As the tournament progresses, we will see really who are the contenders for this edition of ISL."

Though Bengaluru FC made their debut last night, football pundits already have labelled them as favourites to lift this year's ISL trophy.

Last night, they began their historic ISL journey by notching up a 2-0 convincing win against Mumbai after skipper Sunil Chhetri and Eduardo Garcia scored a goal each.
Talking about their 0-2 defeat at the hands of BFC last night, Guimaraes said it was a good learning curve for the team, who will face FC Goa next.

"Scoring goals is the main objective of any game and that is something we need to focus more on," the Costa Rican said.Replying to a query, Guimaraes said the atmosphere at Sree Kanteerava Stadium was not intimidating, but fantastic.

"The atmosphere at the stadium was fantastic (not intimidating) and cannot be used as an excuse for what the final result is. The first half wasn't as good as the second, as we then realized what we had to do," he said.

Asked how he compares the recent crop of players in Mumbai's squad to that of previous seasons, Guimaraes said, "It is difficult to compare as both our teams have had different players.

"But I know for sure that we need to work hard and correct our mistakes to be more competitive in the coming games."