Hyderabad FC striker Javi Siverio in action against the Blues.
Hyderabad FC defeated former champions Bengaluru FC 2-1 to retain the top spot in the Indian Super League on Friday.
The Nizams are four points ahead of the second-place Jamshedpur FC. Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri created history after becoming the highest goal-scorer in ISL after scoring his 50th goal.
Hyderabad scored both goals in the first half of the match at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim. The Spanish striker Javi Siverio opened the scoring in the 16th minute, followed by Brazilian midfielder Joao Victor, who doubled the lead in the 30th minute. Sunil Chhetri scored a consolation goal in the 87th minute of the match. Hyderabad's Nigerian Bartholomew Ogbe is second on the all-time scoring list, with 49 goals, failed to score against the Blues.
Hyderabad FC registered their eighth victory in 16 matches under the guidance of Manolo Marquez and have 29 points as the league leaders. Whereas, Bengaluru FC ended their nine-game unbeaten run against the Nizams as they remain in third place with 23 points from six wins, five draws and five losses.
Post-match thoughts
Hyderabad FC head Coach Manolo Marquez was elated by their victory against the Blues. He said, "Yes, because today we played against a very strong side. As Bengaluru FC were unbeaten for nine games and they were too fighting for the top four. But we suffered a defeat in our last match, so a win after a defeat means a lot."
Marquez then talked about Nizam's defensive performance. He said, "This game was similar to the first leg match against Bengaluru FC. In the first half, we played very well. With good combination and played to our style. In the second half, they put four players in attack. But our defenders, center backs, and all the team, in general, were very good today in terms of defense."
Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli talked about how the team lost the game in the first half. He said, " I think we need to really recognize why we lost. We forgot today in the first half why we came here. I think this best description was the second goal, we slept defensively and conceded. I think that is also what happened in the first half, the basics of football we missed in the first half especially, winning duels, making effort in your position, playing football and creating chances and that's what we didn't do in the first half."
"But in the second half, we did very well and we created one nice chance and also one nice goal but, we created chances, not in 100% focus and concentration the ball came a lot in the box, but not on the right man sometimes on the goalkeeper or sometimes on the defender. We lost a game today in the first half," added Pezzaiuoli.