ISL 2020-21: Manolo Marquez happy to see Hyderabad FC getting back on winning track

Hyderabad FC has risen to the sixth spot with this win. The side is yet to win the Indian Super League title to date, having made its debut last season. Meanwhile, Chennaiyin FC has dropped to the eighth spot with this loss, while it had previously won the title twice.

Hyderabad FC made a resounding comeback to the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL), as it tamed former champion, Chennaiyin FC, at the GMC Stadium in Goa, on Monday. The win has taken Hyderabad up to the sixth spot, while Chennayin has dropped to the table's eighth spot.

It all started with Joel Chianese's opening strike in the 50th minute, followed by Holicharan Narzary, three minutes later. While Chennaiyin's Anirudh Thapa pulled one back in the 67th, Hyderabad's Joao Victor scored in the 74th, with Narzary striking again in the 79th to seal the win.

Following the win, Hyderabad head coach, Manolo Marquez, was obviously delighted with success, as he said, "Yes, finally we can be happy. I think the team played a very good game. First half we failed with very good chances. After the first goal, Chennaiyin had to risk and we took advantage with the chances and space we had at their back."

Speaking on his side having all overseas players available, Marquez said, "You want to have the best players available. Previously, Fran was out with injury, so was Sastre and Joel. Indian players level was fantastic in the start of the tournament. Now in the last three games, they are tired. Let's see now with Fran's injury. We wanted to give some rest with Aridane, but Fran got injured."

Also, on being asked about if the new signings are giving a headache, he reckoned, "I welcome this problem. All coaches want that problem. But, you know that today was the first game. We now have to play 11 games in two months. If we can manage that situation, we will be fantastic. I hope the Indian players continue playing too."

Meanwhile, Chennaiyin manager, Csaba Laszlo, rued the lack of co-ordination in the midfield for the defeat. "Even first half was not good. It could have been 3-0 for HFC. I must be honest; it wasn't a good football game by my team. This game we lost the midfield completely. We didn't create one chance. I try to defend my team, but today, it was very, very bad performance by everyone. If it hadn't been for Vishal, it would have been 6-7 goals. I want to talk about reality. We missed Rafael and our offence today was not good," he said.

Speaking on Rafael Crivellaro's absence, Laszlo counted, "I tried today to have midfield with Deepak, Chhangte and Memo. They can play well, but there was not enough creativity and final passes. We don't play different football, but we lacked ideas and innovation. I have to think about how I rebuild again without Rafa for next game."

Meanwhile, Narzary hailed the big win for Hyderabad, as he stated, "It was a big win for us considering we had lost three games this season. He asked us to be patient and told us that chances would come and to work hard."