Mumbai City FC 5-1 NorthEast United: 5 Talking Points

Mumbai City FC registered an emphatic 5-1 win over NorthEast United to record their third straight win in ISL 2 and also jumping to second position in the league table. Farias’ boys put up a largely disappointing performance and despite having more possession, they could not score goals and conceded due to repeated defensive errors. The exciting match saw a number of records being created with Indian Captain Sunil Chhetri leading the way. Here are five talking points of the game.

#1 Simao and Velez starring from the start failed to help NorthEast

Marquee player of NorthEast United, Simao Sabrosa started for the first time in this edition of the ISL. Argentine striker Nicholas Velez also started for the Highlanders for the first time in two matches. NorthEast in total made five changes to their starting XI.

The appearance of the two key players for NorthEast United from the starting whistle for the first time this season failed to inspire the team as expected. The duo were thought to add creativity and take on the goal scoring role which unfortunately never materialised for the visitors.

NorthEast has won only when Simao and Velez played as substitutes, and the record still remains intact for them.

#2 Entertaining first half and the magnificent Sunil Chettri

It started with a defensive error from NorthEast United which allowed Subhash to go past the NEUFC defence. He sent in a cross which hit the extended arm of Carlos Lopez and the referee awarded a penalty straightaway in favour of the home team. Indian national captain Chhetri produced a brilliant spot-kick tricking Rehenesh with a Panenka, scoring the first goal of the match and his fourth of the season.

He scored his second goal in the 40th minute to become the first Indian player to score 5 goals in the Indian Super League. It took just a couple of minutes after the second half for Sunil to create another record as Mumbai FC was awarded their second penalty for a handball by Andre Bikey. Chettri took it from the spot to become the first Indian player to score a hattrick. He has now surpassed Jeje Lalpekhua and Mohammed Rafi to become the highest Indian scorer in ISL.

The first half also saw a brilliant goal by Boithang Haokip for NorthEast. It was again a handball which resulted in a free kick for NEUFC. Haokip’s left footed effort went in off the post from an acute angle and to become the first Indian player for NorthEast this season to score a goal.

#3 Defensive errors by NorthEast and Sony Norde scored his first

NorthEast displayed a horrible defensive performance today. Two handballs, loads of failed marking efforts and lack of communication, all cost them the match which saw a team conceding five goals first time in ISL 2.

This failed defensive effort by NorthEast gifted Sony Norde his long quest, his first goal. He was left unmarked again and this time around he produced a clever fake shot, put the keeper off and he then calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Sunil would have well scored his fourth goal as he was left unmarked by Hangbert. Luckily for NEUFC, his powerful shot hit the crossbar. NorthEast repeatedly failed to mark players as again in the 77th minute Norde was left unmarked on the left who crossed to Chhetri who also was unmarked, but missed the target by a fraction.

In the 85th minute, Mumbai scored their fifth goal, as Bertin was left unmarked again and he scored off a Norde corner.

Sunil Chhetri could have scored three more goals had he been successful in converting his chances. A couple of words here should also go for TP Rehenesh who made a couple of decent saves.

#4 Spiderman Subrata Paul and co.

While Mumbai FC forwards were busy scoring goals, one man who stood firm at the back was Mumbai FC goalkeeper Subrata Paul. He produced a string of scintillating saves and was particularly good at taming Nicholas Velez’s moves. Even during stoppage time, he denied NorthEast any chance of scoring by his brilliant performance.

He was also supported well by his defence line, particularly by Indian players Ashutosh and Fanai who produced some good blocks and interceptions.

#5 Recap of all the firsts

Let us look at all the firsts of the match:

• Sunil Chhetri becomes the first Indian player to score a Hattrick in ISL.
• Sunil Chhetri becomes the first Indian player to score two or more goals in two matches in the ISL.
• Boithang Haokip becomes the first Indian player to score for NorthEast United.
• Sony Norde scores his first goal of ISL Season 2.
• Mumbai City FC becomes the first team to score more than 3 goals in ISL Season 2.
• Marquee player of NorthEast United Simao Sabrosa makes his first appearance in the starting XI.