ISL 7: East Bengal have best squad in the league, says Marquez
Feb 13, 2021
Vasco (Goa) [India], February 13 : After playing out a 1-1 draw against SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Friday, Hyderabad FC head coach Manuel Marquez said that the Kolkata-based side has the best squad at the moment and should have had more points in the table.
Bright Enobakhare scored in the 59th minute for East Bengal, who seemed to be cruising towards the win until the stoppage-time leveler from Aridane Santana. The result extended the Nizams' unbeaten run to nine games
Hyderabad made two changes in their playing XI as Liston Colaco and Joel Chianese came in for Mohammed Yasir and Fran Sandaza, while East Bengal reposed faith in the same XI that defeated Jamshedpur FC in the previous encounter.
"East Bengal at this moment have the best squad in the league. Maybe they have some problem. Maybe we are playing very good practically all the season. With all the respect to East Bengal, they started the season very late. In the (transfer) market, they changed a lot of Indian players. I remember they deserve to win against Mumbai. I think they deserve more points in the table. The problem is not for us though. We are doing very good in the season," Marquez said after the game.
Marquez is satisfied with the team's performance and a late-equaliser to earn a point in the final minutes of the clash.
"We are satisfied because we equalized the game at the last moment. But in the first-half, we are not able to decide the game. In the second half, we shot against the post. And in the counter-attack, they score. After they score. I think we had some bad moments, nervous. (But) we got one important point," Marquez said after the game," he said.
Hyderabad are currently third on the table with 24 points from 17 games.
"Now we are towards the end of the competition. There are only three games. Of course, very difficult to win the games. Our schedule is very difficult. We play against FC Goa and ATK Mohun Bagan. Our fixtures are difficult in comparison to other teams. (But) we will continue fighting," Marquez said.
