Calcutta: Despite the 1-0 win over the arch-rivals on Tuesday, Mohun Bagan coach Biswajit Bhattacharya feels East Bengal are still better-placed to win the CFL Premier Division title.

“For the supporters, the back-to-back victories over East Bengal are a nice Puja gift and as good as winning the championship. But for me, we are still behind East Bengal… They are better-placed to win it,” Bhattacharya told reporters after the match.

“The officials wanted me to experiment and get the side ready for the National League. But frankly, I wanted to win this tournament. We lost crucial points against teams like Calcutta Port Trust and George Telegraph and these setbacks have dented our hopes,” he added.

However, Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva believes the league is still open. “We have still four matches to go and anybody can win it,” he said.

According to Pereira, lifting the title without beating Mohun Bagan will not take the shine off his team’s effort. “I’m looking at the championship, not any particular game,” the Brazilian pointed out.

But what went wrong? According to Pereira, fielding the injured Marcio Fernandes Thomas was a “big mistake”.

“I didn’t realise he would fail. Besides, Anupam Sarkar also had to be substituted. I had some strategy on my mind, but had to change it due to substitution of Marcio and Anupam and it affected our play,” Pereira remarked.

Bhattacharya, however, hailed it as a victory of his strategy.

“East Bengal know about our strengths and weaknesses in the defence. So, I deliberately played Mehrajuddin (Wadao)… this move paid off. Sanjeev Maria (who got the MoM award) and Eduardo (Coelho) also played well…