Mumbai City FC were stunned by Bengaluru FC by 2-4 at GMC Stadium Bambolim, Goa. It was match 95th of the Indian Super League played on Monday night of 15th February, 2021.
Bengaluru FC were rampant by scoring 4 goals and 2 goals in each half. Mumbai City FC tried to come back into the game but only managed 2 goals in the latter half. The blues were constantly challenging the Islanders’ defense and made them suffer.
It was a much-needed victory for Bengaluru FC to bring them on 5th spot in the league table. After playing 18 matches, the Blues have earned 22 points. The win was special as it came in the 200th match of Captain Sunil Chhetri.
The Islanders lost their top spot to ATK Mohun Bagan and slipped to the 2nd spot. After their 3rd loss this season, the Islanders have 34 points in 17 games.
MUMBAI CITY FC 2-4 BENGALURU FC TEAM NEWS:
4-2-3-1 was the choice of Head Coach Sergio Lobera for the Islanders. He made two changes in the starting line-up with the addition of Vignesh Dakshinamurthy in defense and Cy Goddard in the midfield. For the Blues, it was the return of Cleiton Silva from injury and Xisco Hernandez taking the central role. Interim Head Coach of the Blues, Naushad Moosa, came up with the idea of 4-4-2 and it worked for them.
MUMBAI CITY FC 2-4 BENGALURU FC ANALYSIS:
In view of the previous result between the two sides, it looked like the other way round. But it was Bengaluru FC who made an early mark in the game through Cleiton Silva’s strike in the initial minute. It was Udanta Singh’s cross who found Silva in the box.
Amrinder Singh tried his best to resist the attempts of the Blues but couldn’t hold them for long. Again it was Cleiton Silva who headed a Xisco Hernandez free-kick in the 21st minute. The first half ended with 2 goals and 3 yellows for the Blues but the Islanders earned just a yellow card.
Rowlin Borges was replaced by Jackichand Singh in the first half. The second half was more thrilling as it was filled with goals and tactical substitutions. In the 50th minute, Adam Le Fondre brought Islanders back into the game.
Sunil Chhetri eventually scored in his 200th appearance for the Blues after right footed shot found the net on the goal kick of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. This happened in the 56th minute and the Islanders replied in71st minute through Adam Le Fondre’s header from the centre of the box, assisted by Cy Goddard.
The match was about two minutes into the added five minutes when Sunil Chhetri’s left-footed shot went in on the assist of Edmund Lalrindika. In the end, the Blues were on the seventh heaven and special match performance by Sunil Chhetri on his 200th appearance.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
SUNIL CHHETRI: Remarkable performance on a milestone day of the skipper. Bagged two goals and complete leader performance. Legend of the game has delivered once again for the team.
CEITON SILVA: It didn’t look like he was injured and scored just after the kick-off. Another striker’s performance was much needed to make a statement for the team.
In the next round of matches, Mumbai City FC will be up against Jamshedpur FC on 20th February 2021 and Bengaluru FC will be hosting FC Goa on 21st February 2021.
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