Naman Suri in Mumbai
A side in transition, having lost several big names before the season even began, Mumbai City FC have experienced a mixed bag of results in this season of the Indian Super League (ISL) so far. The defending champions are currently fifth on the table with 27 points from 17 games. There are seven more matches to go.
Key players like Rahul Bheke and Apuia Ralte, along with foreign recruits Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Alberto Noguera, left the club and these were significant losses. The void left by Diaz is glaring. In 37 ISL appearances for Mumbai City, the Argentine had scored 21 goals and provided seven assists.
Although summer signing Nikos Karelis has stepped up appreciably, contributing nine goals in 16 matches, the rest of the squad has struggled to add meaningful contributions. Last season, Mumbai City’s goals were more evenly distributed, with attacking midfielders Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Partap Singh leading the charge. Diaz, for example, managed only four goals in 11 games. Chhangte and Vikram netted nine and eight, respectively, across 18 matches.
To strengthen their attack, head coach Petr Kratky brought in Spanish winger Jorge Ortiz during the winter transfer window. A product of Getafe’s youth system, Ortiz has prior experience in the ISL and AFC Champions League with FC Goa. During his time with Goa, he made 36 appearances, scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists.
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“As I said after the Punjab FC game, I believe we are heading for a strong finish to the season. The group is performing very well and I’m very positive going forward. I don’t focus on what’s happening on the ladder (points table). Instead, we’re taking it game by game, which remains our main focus,” Kratky stated in the post-match press conference following their recent 3-0 win over Mohammedan SC.
The Islanders added depth to their squad by signing attacking midfielders Brandon Fernandes and Jon Toral. This has helped the team create chances. They are second only to Odisha FC in the league, when it comes to the expected goals (xG) tally, on 23.1. However, inability to convert these chances remains a key concern.
Their struggles in finishing half-chances have been a recurring issue, but there were promising signs. They started to make use of their opportunities in the last 15 minutes of their dominant 3-0 victory over bottom-placed Mohammedan SC. This win came after a tough run of three consecutive 3-0 losses at home for the Islanders.
Mohammedan SC head coach Andrey Chernyshov aptly summed up Mumbai City’s season after the match. “Look, we understood before the game that we would be playing against one of the best teams in the ISL. It doesn’t matter what happened with them in previous matches. They are still good. They might not have played so well in some games, but their quality with the ball is evident,” Chernyshov stated.
Kratky remains optimistic, focusing on a game-by-game approach to finish the season on a high. Mumbai City FC will face East Bengal FC next on Friday, January 31, at their home ground.
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