Sergio Lobera is eyeing the Indian Super League (ISL) title in his first season with City Football Group-owned Mumbai City.
With his team currently leading the standings with 26 points from 11 games, the Islanders’ gaffer has mentioned that he would not mind trading any goalscoring records for the piece of silverware that he has not managed to clinch in his last three seasons at FC Goa.
“The most important thing is to win the trophy. Obviously, this will be a consequence of doing a lot of things well. Along the way, if we have very good numbers in terms of not conceding a lot of goals, scoring goals, possession, these things give you more possibilities to win the league. But if I need to refuse all records and only win the trophy, I prefer to win the trophy because this is the best record we can achieve,” he said.
Mumbai City FC defender Mourtada Fall has scored 11 headed goals in the Indian Super League (9 for FC Goa and 2 for Mumbai City FC), he has now equalled chetri Sunil record of the most headed goals in the ISL. Towering.
If I see the result, I’m extremely happy. But on the whole, we were dominated and that’s a concern. We had quite a few chances to score a second goal. However, we didn’t capitalise on that. If we continue this way, it might be difficult to win future games.
East Bengal played really well in the second half. We lost the ball often and made it easy for them. I want to play attacking football, create more chances and score goals. But we couldn’t do that throughout the game. We need to improve. Hugo Boumous was taken off as a precaution. He was feeling good on the field tonight and produced a good assist.
We were brilliant in the second half. This was a much improved performance and I was happy for my players. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any points. It took a little longer for the players to adapt to the game. Some of them weren’t up to the mark. So made several tweaks in the final 45 minutes.
The table is tight at the moment and we need a string of wins from here to make it past the group stage. Jeje (Lalpekhlua) isn’t fully fit yet. Harmanpreet Singh, who is better suited for the role up front, is preferred as the Indian attacker.
Both Robbie Fowler and Sergio Lobera had deployed SC East Bengal and Mumbai City FC respectively in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Mourtada Fall broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. Cy Goddard put in an inswinging corner, which and Mehtab Singh flicked out of the danger area. Hugo Boumous got the loose ball in control on the edge of the box. He looked up and put in a sumptuous cross into the penalty spot area. Mourtada Fall was left unmarked and he leaped high to head it into the back of the net.
The result kept Mumbai on the top of the league table with 29 points from 12 games. They are 5 points ahead of second placed ATK Mohun Bagan. East Bengal remained 10th with 12 points from 13 games.
SC East Bengal and Mumbai City FC fought out a solid battle, but it was the Islanders that came out on top. Both teams came out aggressive, but it was Mumbai City FC who struck first with a towering header from Mourtada Fall. As SC East Bengal tried to fight back, Sergio Lobera’s side were able to hold them off and bagged all the 3 points. Mumbai City FC now sit one win away from equalling the Hero ISL record for most consecutive games unbeaten!
Highlights - SC East Bengal 0-1 Mumbai City FC - Match 67
"When you see the stats, we lost the possession of the ball and it is difficult for us when we are playing this way. Obviously, we need to improve. We were lucky about the result in the second half because they played very well. We were playing against a team who were unbeaten in seven matches in a row. In the first half, we had chances to score the second goal.
“Sometimes it is not possible to play the way you want to play. The opponent was playing and we had to play in another way. In the second half, we suffered a lot because they wanted to keep possession. This is not the way we want to play. We want to win more games and improve. We need to work on this.” said Lobera.
“They (East Bengal) have improved a lot, they have new players. They are a very competitive team. Their results speak about their quality now, seven matches unbeaten. They played very well today and there is no comparison of this team with the team they were in the first half of the season.”
“This was a performance we can rightly proud of even though we didn’t win the game. But we showed everyone how much progress we have made. We looked better as a team, individuals looked fitter and stronger. It is a shame that it took us 45 minutes to get going because we probably gave Mumbai the hardest 45 minutes this year and full credits to the lads. Probably the scoreline didn’t do us justice but its a defeat nonetheless,” said Fowler.
“Like every game, we got to win. We got the attitude. If we play well and be confident then we can give anyone a game. We showed that tonight. We would have been more than happy to settle for a point, chasing the game really late but we always go out with the attitude to try and win it.”
“Mumbai are a good side with an excellent manager and excellent players. There’s a lot for us to work on and we will pick ourselves up. We have real ambition and aspiration to be among the top four.”
“It is massively frustrating because we have shown we can compete against the big teams. Every game we want to get the right results. But we will pick ourselves up. This was the first defeat in eight games. It is massively important that we start winning soon. We have got the players to get results so hopefully, the outcome will be good,” said Fowler.
Kerala Blasters FC will be looking to continue their climb up the 2020-21 Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) standings with a win over FC Goa at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Saturday. The Blasters emerged triumphant in dramatic fashion in their last outing against Bengaluru but will be wary about their 3-1 loss to the Gaurs earlier in the campaign.
Goa, in fact, enjoy a superior head-to-head against Kerala. The Gaurs have won nine, lost three and drawn one of their 13 encounters against the Blasters. They will back themselves to do the double over Kibu Vicuna’s men as they head into the encounter with a five-match unbeaten run that’s seen them claim three victories.
A resilient outfit that loves to play a flamboyant style of football, Juan Ferrando’s men have won 10 points after conceding the first goal – the most by a team in Hero ISL 2020-21. Primarily a second half team if ever there was one this season, Goa have scored 12 of their 17 goals after the restart and seven of those strikes have come in the final 15 minutes, which indicates their propensity to finish matches strongly. They have also netted 13 time from open play – the most by a team in the ongoing campaign.
“It will be a very difficult game. They have been trying to play good football. They have different plans and are making the most of free spaces. They have a good squad. It will be a good game,” FC Goa head coach Ferrando said ahead of the game.
“Tomorrow is a difficult game versus a good team that plays good football,” Blasters head coach Vicuna said ahead of the game.
“We are happy that we are close [to the top four] after the last game but we are focusing on the next game only.”
Kerala Blasters FC and FC Goa have played each other on 13 occasions. The Blasters have managed to won just 3 games while only one fixture ended in a draw. The Gaurs have won 9 fixtures over the Kochi-based side since ISL 2014 and ran out 3-1 winners against the Blasters earlier this season.
Kerala Blasters FC vs FC Goa: Last 5 head-to-head results
FC Goa’s Edu Bedia has the most successful passes in the opposition half (367) after MD13 in this campaign of the Indian Super League. He has also attempted the most in opposition half (459). Orchestrator.
It’s been one-way traffic as FC Goa dominated the half. Blasters have been second best in the first half but crucially for them, they are still in it as Goa have scored only one.
10-man FC Goa held Kerala Blasters to a 1-1 draw at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Saturday.
FC Goa dominated the game in the first-half as Jorge Mendoza (25’) scored the opening goal. After being outplayed in the first 45 minutes, Kerala Blasters returned with better intent in the second-half as Rahul KP (57’) equalized from the set piece.
The result saw FC Goa remain on the third spot with 20 points while Kerala Blasters are at the seventh spot with 14.
