# 2020–21 Bengaluru FC season

The 2020–21 season was Bengaluru FC's eighth season as a club since its establishment in 2013.

## Background
### Transfers

During the course of 2019–20 season, Bengaluru FC extended contracts of Juanan, Thongkhosiem Haokip and Edmund Lalrindika. At the end of the season, Bengaluru FC extended contracts of Udanta Singh, Erik Paartalu, Dimas Delgado, Ajay Chhetri, Leon Augustine, Roshan Singh and Namgyal Bhutia.
On 3 June Bengaluru FC announced signing of defender Pratik Chaudhari and club's former goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte. Both the players signed with the club for two seasons. On 5 June Bengaluru FC announced signing of defenders Joe Zoherliana and Wungngayam Muirang on two year deal. On 20 June Bengaluru FC announced signing of Brazilian forward Cleiton Silva on one year deal. In August 2020, Bengaluru signed left back Ajith Kumar from Chennai City F.C. on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 18 September Bengaluru FC signed midfielder Huidrom Thoi Singh from Reliance Foundation Young Champs. On 3 October Bengaluru FC announced signing of goalkeeper Lara Sharma for three years. On 20 October Bengaluru FC announced signing of Spanish defender Fran González and Norwegian striker Kristian Opseth on season long deals.
Bengaluru FC did not renew the contract of Spanish midfielder Nili as he joined Greek side Levadiakos. Jamaican striker Kevaughn Frater signed for Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. Defender Nishu Kumar and goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill signed for Kerala Blasters. On 13 September 2020, Spanish striker Manuel Onwu completed the move to Odisha FC after being on the loan the previous season. Defender Gursimrat Singh Gill signed for Bengaluru United Brazilian midfielder Raphael Augusto's contract with the club was terminated on mutual agreement, owing to personal reasons. Bengaluru FC did not renew the contract of Spanish defender Albert Serrán Defender Sairuat Kima joined Sudeva FC. Midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and defender Rino Anto joined East Bengal.
In the winter transfer window, Ajay Chhetri was loaned out to SC East Bengal till the end of the season.

#### In

| No. | Position | Player | Previous club | Transfer fee | Date |
| 4 | DF | Pratik Chaudhari | Mumbai City | Free agent | 3 June 2020 |
| 28 | GK | Lalthuammawia Ralte | East Bengal | Free agent | 3 June 2020 |
| 24 | DF | Joe Zoherliana | Aizawl | Free agent | 5 June 2020 |
| 15 | DF | Wungngayam Muirang | Gokulam Kerala | Free agent | 5 June 2020 |
| 23 | FW | Cleiton Silva | Suphanburi | Free agent | 20 June 2020 |
| 19 | DF | Ajith Kumar | Chennai City | Undisclosed | 22 August 2020 |
| 36 | MF | Huidrom Thoi Singh | Reliance Foundation Young Champs | Free agent | 18 September 2020 |
| 30 | GK | Lara Sharma | ATK | Free agent | 3 October 2020 |
| 55 | DF | Fran González | Mohun Bagan | Free agent | 20 October 2020 |
| 9 | FW | Kristian Opseth | Adelaide United | Free agent | 20 October 2020 |
| | MF | Xisco Hernández | Odisha | Free agent | 15 January 2021 |
| | DF | Yrondu Musavu-King | Le Mans | Free agent | 10 March 2021 |

#### Out

| No. | Position | Player | Outgoing club | Date | Fee |
| 3 | DF | Albert Serrán | Montañesa | 1 June 2020 | Free agent |
| 4 | DF | Sairuat Kima | Sudeva | 1 June 2020 | Free agent |
| 13 | DF | Rino Anto | East Bengal | 1 June 2020 | Free agent |
| 7 | MF | Eugeneson Lyngdoh | East Bengal | 1 June 2020 | Free agent |
| 29 | MF | Nili | Levadiakos | 9 June 2020 | Free agent |
| 22 | DF | Nishu Kumar | Kerala Blasters | 22 July 2020 | Free agent |
| 17 | FW | Kevaughn Frater | Maccabi Netanya | 1 August 2020 | Free agent |
| 31 | GK | Prabhsukhan Singh Gill | Kerala Blasters | 9 September 2020 | Free agent |
| 9 | FW | Manuel Onwu | Odisha | 13 September 2020 | Free agent |
| 33 | DF | Gursimrat Singh Gill | Bengaluru United | 17 September 2020 | Free agent |
| 8 | MF | Kean Lewis | Sudeva | 9 October 2020 | Free agent |
| 12 | MF | Raphael Augusto | Abahani Limited Dhaka | 17 October 2020 | Free agent |
| 26 | FW | Deshorn Brown | NorthEast United | 15 January 2021 | Released |

#### Out on loan

| No. | Position | Player | Outgoing club | Date | Fee | Ref |
| 13 | MF | Ajay Chhetri | East Bengal | 15 January 2021 | Unknown | |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Bengaluru FC started pre-season with a friendly against Hyderabad FC on 7 November 2020 at Dempo SC ground, in Goa. Bengaluru drew the game 1–1 with Wungngayam Muirang scoring the opening goal in first half. Aridane Santana scored from spot to equalise for Hyderabad in second half.

### Mid-season friendlies
## Competitions
### Indian Super League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 5 | Hyderabad | 20 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 29 |
| 6 | Jamshedpur | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 27 |
| 7 | Bengaluru | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 22 |
| 8 | Chennaiyin | 20 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 23 | −6 | 20 |
| 9 | East Bengal | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 17 |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | D | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | D | W | D | L | W | L | L |
| Position | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 |

#### Matches
### AFC Cup

ATK, who finished runners-up in the league phase of the 2019–20 Indian Super League season, merged with 2019–20 I-League champions Mohun Bagan and qualified automatically to the AFC Cup group stage. Third-placed team in 2019–20 Indian Super League season, Bengaluru FC qualified for 2021 AFC Cup qualifiers. This will be Bengaluru's sixth appearance in the tournament.

#### Qualifying play-offs
##### Play-off round

Due to the lockdown and travel restrictions in Bangladesh, the AFC Sub-Committee decided that Abahani Limited Dhaka are considered to have withdrawn from the AFC Cup 2021 and awarded the Playoff Stage slot to Eagles FC. Playoff Stage match supposed to be hosted by Bengaluru FC, moved to Maldives, which is hosting Group D matches, where the winner of Playoff will be placed. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Play-off round between Bengaluru FC and Eagles FC scheduled for May 2021 postponed to 15 August 2021.

## Coaching Staff
### Management

After poor outings during the ongoing season, on 6 January 2021, it was announced that Carles Cuadrat and Bengaluru FC decided to mutually part ways. Naushad Moosa, the assistant coach and the head coach of Bengaluru FC B, was appointed as a caretaker coach. Soon after the departure of Carles, the fitness coach Mikel Guillen too parted ways with the club.
    As of 26 February 2021
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Marco Pezzaiuoli |
| Assistant Coach | Javier Pinillos |
| Assistant Coach/Reserve team Head Coach | Naushad Moosa |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Julen Esnaola |
| Physiotherapist | Senen Alvarez |
| Team Manager | Rosewall Da Cunha |
| Video Analyst | Alwin Lawrence |
| Masseur | Manu Prasad |
| Kit Boy | Gireesh PM |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | ISL | ISL | AFC | AFC |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | GK | IND | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | 20 | 0 | 19+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | IND | Lalthuammawia Ralte | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | IND | Lara Sharma | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 34 | GK | IND | Sharon Padattil | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | DF | IND | Rahul Bheke | 16 | 3 | 13+2 | 1 | 1+0 | 2 |
| 4 | DF | IND | Pratik Chaudhari | 16 | 0 | 10+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Juanan | 15 | 2 | 14+0 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 10 | DF | IND | Harmanjot Khabra | 17 | 0 | 16+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | IND | Wungngayam Muirang | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | IND | Ajith Kumar | 9 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | IND | Joe Zoherliana | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | IND | Namgyal Bhutia | 3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | IND | Parag Shrivas | 11 | 0 | 8+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | IND | Biswa Kumar Darjee | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 55 | DF | ESP | Fran González | 18 | 1 | 10+8 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | GAB | Yrondu Musavu-King | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 6 | MF | AUS | Erik Paartalu | 19 | 2 | 17+1 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Dimas Delgado | 13 | 1 | 10+3 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | IND | Ashique Kuruniyan | 9 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | IND | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 20 | 1 | 18+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | IND | Leon Augustine | 9 | 1 | 2+7 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | IND | Roshan Singh | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | IND | Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | IND | Huidrom Thoi Singh | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | IND | Amay Morajkar | 8 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ESP | Xisco Hernández | 6 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | IND | Damaitphang Lyngdoh | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | MF | IND | Muhammad Inayath | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 11 | FW | IND | Sunil Chhetri | 21 | 9 | 20+0 | 8 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | IND | Edmund Lalrindika | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | IND | Thongkhosiem Haokip | 5 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | IND | Udanta Singh | 18 | 1 | 13+4 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | BRA | Cleiton Silva | 19 | 9 | 18+0 | 7 | 1+0 | 2 |
| | FW | IND | Sivasakthi Narayanan | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | FW | IND | Akashdeep Singh | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||
| 13 | MF | IND | Ajay Chhetri | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | JAM | Deshorn Brown | 10 | 0 | 5+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NOR | Kristian Opseth | 15 | 0 | 8+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
* Source: soccerway
Updated: 14 April 2021

### Goal scorers

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Player | ISL | AFC | Total |
| 1 | 11 | FW | | Sunil Chhetri | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 1 | 23 | FW | | Cleiton Silva | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | DF | | Rahul Bheke | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | DF | | Juanan | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 6 | MF | | Erik Paartalu | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 14 | MF | | Dimas Delgado | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 19 | MF | | Udanta Singh | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 27 | MF | | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 31 | MF | | Leon Augustine | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 55 | MF | | Fran González | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 26 | 5 | 31 |
Source: soccerway Updated: 14 April 2021

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Player | ISL | AFC | Total |
| 1 | 1 | GK | | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 31 | GK | | Lalthuammawia Ralte | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Source: soccerway Updated: 14 April 2021

### Disciplinary record

| Rank | No. | Pos | Player | ISL | ISL | AFC | AFC | Total | Total | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | MF | Erik Paartalu | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | Missed a game, against Mumbai City (4 yellow cards) (5 January 2021) Missed a game, against East Bengal (7 yellow cards) (2 February 2021) |
| 2 | 10 | DF | Harmanjot Khabra | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | Missed a game, against East Bengal (4 yellow cards) (9 January 2021) |
| 3 | 4 | DF | Pratik Chaudhari | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Missed a game, against Mumbai City (4 yellow cards) (15 February 2021) |
| 4 | 2 | DF | Rahul Bheke | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Missed a game, against Chennaiyin (4 yellow cards) (5 February 2021) |
| 4 | 22 | MF | Ashique Kuruniyan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Missed a game, against Jamshedpur (4 yellow cards) (25 February 2021) |
| 6 | 5 | DF | Juanan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 6 | 11 | FW | Sunil Chhetri | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 6 | 23 | FW | Cleiton Silva | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 6 | 27 | MF | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 10 | 14 | MF | Dimas Delgado | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 10 | 15 | DF | Wungngayam Muirang | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 10 | 19 | DF | Ajith Kumar | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 10 | 29 | DF | Parag Shrivas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 10 | 55 | DF | Fran González | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 15 | 1 | GK | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 15 | 17 | FW | Edmund Lalrindika | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Source: soccerway Updated: 14 April 2021