Mumbai City FC 1-1 NorthEast United FC – 4 things we learnt

Mumbai City FC and NorthEast United FC shared the spoils on Tuesday in their Indian Super League (ISL) match with the game finishing level at 1-1.

Mumbai City FC put pressure on their opponents for most of the first half but failed to score from open play.

The referee pointed to the penalty spot after Vikram Partap Singh appeared to have been brought down right inside the box. In Igor Angulo’s absence, Ahmed Jahouh stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake in making it 1-0 in favor of the Islanders.

However, Mumbai City FC lost steam in the second half and NorthEast United FC kept knocking on the door. Soon enough, Mohammed Irshad scored for the Highlanders to level proceedings. Both sides had opportunities to take the lead but failed to capitalize on them.

In this listicle, we take a look at the top 4 things we learnt from the match.

COVID-19 scare in Mumbai City FC camp

Mumbai City FC was the only team to have not reported a single case of COVID-19 after Chennaiyin FC’s Vishal Kaith tested positive in the morning. However, the teamsheet for the match made it clear that the Mumbai City FC bio-bubble had been breached.

Igor Angulo, Rahul Bheke, Vinit Rai, Phurba Lachenpa and Mandar Rao Dessai were some notable exclusions from the matchday squad of Mumbai City FC. A while later, reports emerged that the above mentioned players were under quarantine after contracting the virus.

Needless to say, the Islanders missed the services of all of these players dearly, particularly Igor Angulo. Hopefully, the players will recover quickly and be back on the field soon.

Mumbai City FC’s winless streak extends to 6 matches

The situation has kept getting worse for Des Buckingham’s side this season. Mumbai City FC’s winless streak started when they were defeated 3-0 at the hands of Kerala Blasters at a time when they were top of the table after 6 games. Since then, they have picked up only 3 points from 6 games, failing to win a single match.

The team’s performance in the second half has come under the scanner on multiple occasions. After taking the lead in the first half, Mumbai City FC fail to build upon it and seal the game. Even against NorthEast United FC, the team did not score any goals in the second half and ended up conceding.

Signs of improvement for NorthEast United FC

NorthEast United FC signed three new foreign players in the January transfer window to replace Mathias Courer, Khassa Camara and Federico Gallego. The club signed Marcelinho, Marco Sahanek and Zakaria Diallo and started all three of them against Mumbai City FC.

Evidently, there was a marked improvement in their play as they came close to scoring on a number of occasions. Hernan Santana’s presence in midfield got the team going as he orchestrated the game well.

Khalid Jamil will be a happy man and the supporters of NorthEast United FC should look forward to better days.

Mumbai City FC punished for poor finishing

Igor Angulo is Mumbai City FC’s top goalscorer this season with 8 goals to his name already. He has been reliable for the team and has scored the bulk of their goals. His non-availability for the NorthEast United game, therefore, hurt Mumbai City FC a good deal.

Brad Inman had a clear opportunity to score in the first half when Cassio Gabriel produced a lovely through pass for the Australian. Inman, however, could not convert. In the second half, Cassio Gabriel had a chance to put Mumbai City FC back in the lead but he failed to put the ball past Subhasish Roy Chowdhury.

Had Angulo been playing, these chances might hav been taken. Des Buckingham will hope to have his target man back in the side as soon as possible.