Three changes Manolo Marquez must make at FC Goa after defeat vs Al-Nassr

The Gaurs are currently bottom of the group with zero points.

FC Goa suffered their third-straight loss in the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two group stages in their 2-1 defeat to Al-Nassr at the Fatorda Stadium on Wednesday (22 October 2025). This basically ends their dreams of making it into the knockout stages of the competition, with the Gaurs having lost all three matches so far in the continental tournament.

Even though Manolo Marquez’s side showcased impressive grit and spirit against Al-Nassr, they failed to get anything positive from the game. There are still some concerning shortcomings in certain departments of the squad, which need to be fixed in order for the Indian Super League (ISL) side to compete strongly in such tournaments.

That includes some crucial changes that Marquez has to make to his set-up at FC Goa for them to perform at a higher level. Here, we look at three changes Manolo Marquez has to make at FC Goa after the loss to Al-Nassr.

3. Be braver on the transitions

FC Goa were unable to really pose that big a problem to Al-Nassr on their counterattacking opportunities in the recent AFC Champions League Two game. Despite recovering the ball in some crucial areas on some occasions, the Gaurs were just not forceful and menacing enough in the transitions.

A lot of responsibilities were piled up on Brison Fernandes and sometimes Udanta Singh to soar forward with the ball in the counter-attacks, but they had very little support to help them in building genuine attacking moves.

Marquez has to work on this particular aspect of his team and make them a bigger threat on the transitions. He needs to urge his midfielders to show more support to the forwards by marching forward quickly on the transitions, and also try to get into the box to give options to the wingers to create big chances. Unless FC Goa show more fierceness and courage on the transitions, they are not going to be able to catch opposition sides by surprise in the big games.

Also Read: Three things that went wrong for FC Goa in Al-Nassr loss in AFC Champions League Two

2. Solve the striker problem

FC Goa have an issue with their centre-forward role, especially after seeing Javier Siverio suffer an injury against Al-Nassr. The Spanish striker was only able to last for around 24 minutes before being forced to be substituted because of an injury. That left Manolo Marquez to be forced to move Dejan Drazic into that position, something that failed to impress. Dejan does not seem like a natural striker at all, as he failed to trouble the defenders with his movement or test the opposition goalkeeper.

Marquez now has a bit of a headache on his hands in filling the void in the no.9 position left by the injured Siverio. Iker Guarrotxena, who was an unused substitute against Al-Nassr, can potentially play in the centre-forward role but he’s more of a no.10 option. Manolo has to change up his system, potentially to play Guarrtoxena in a false no.9 position and move his wingers further up the pitch to hound the opposition defenders.

Also Read: Will Cristiano Ronaldo feature in ACL 2 home leg vs FC Goa in Saudi Arabia?

1. More exposure to the young talents

The Indian talents were arguably the best performers for FC Goa in their loss to Al-Nassr and some of the younger players did well for themselves. Brison Fernandes was, of course, the standout performer with his energetic presence on the left-flank, constantly making forward runs and trying to take on the Al-Nassr players. However, he wasn’t the only one to make an impact. Muhammed Nemil looked pretty good after coming on too, being involved in some exciting moments on the right-flank.

The Super Cup and the remainder of the AFC Champions League Two competition are actually the ideal platform for Marquez to start giving more exposure to the young Indian talents in his squad. The likes of Nemil, Abdul Rabeeh and even young centre-back Ronney Wilson could significantly benefit from playing competitive senior games consistently and potentially push for starting roles in the FC Goa team.

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