Mumbai City bounced back from the defeat to Pune City by defeating Atletico De Kolkata with 2-1 at the D.Y. Patel Stadium today. Lalrindika Ralte emerged as hero for the home team as he scored one and assisted another for getting Mumbai City all the three points they badly needed.
Ralte gave Mumbai City the lead by scoring in the first half but Atletico equalised as Baljit Sahni scored for the visitors. However in the 76th minute the Mizoram midfielder again helped his team score as Manuel Friedrich scores from Ralte’s free-kick.
Mumbai City made three changes in the team as Jon Stohanzl, Nicolas Anelka and Lalrindika Ralte were introduced in the starting line-up by replacing Sushil Singh, Asif Kottayil and Peter Costa.
Atletico De Kolkata made two changes in the starting line-up as Luis Garcia and Mohammed Rafi replaced Baljit Sahni and Jakub Podany.
In the 3rd minute Syed Rahim Nabi missed the goal post by hitting the ball wide after he easily went past two defenders unchallenged.
The resulting goal-kick helped Atletico to make their first attempt at goal. As Rafi easily breaking down the left gave the ball to Borja Fernandez at the edge of the box but Fernandez effort went past the post.
In the 14th minute Atletico made an emergency substitution, Mohammad Rafi pulled up a hamstring injury and Asif Kottayil replaced him.
The home side dominated the game by controlling the ball possession and ultimately took the lead in the 40th minute. Tiago with his brilliant run down the right flank into the penalty area passed the ball to Ralte whose wonderful finish made Edel looked clueless.
Atletico De Kolkata got a chance to bounce back in the injury time of the first half. After Luis Garcia gave a through pass to Fikru whose resulting shot went wide.
Kolkata started off with second half as Fikru missed a goal scoring opportunity in the 47th minute. The Ethiopian was challenged in the box by Pavol Cmovs before he could score.
In the 51st minute Anelka passed the ball to Asif, after the ball was cleared out from the corner. Kottayil shot a piledriver straight at goal which beat the goalkeeper but crashed off the upright.
In the 60th minute the visitors were awarded a free kick at the edge of the box, which was taken by Luis Garcia. The Spaniard passed the ball to an unmarked Borja in the box. Fernandez took the shot but the ball fell to Baljit Sahni who scored the equaliser for Atletico.
Mumbai could have taken the lead in 67th minute as Tiago gave a sublime pass to Abhishek Yadav in the box. Yadav could have scored easily but got confused and failed, defender kicked the ball to corner.
The home side finally took the lead in the 76th minute, as Ralte gave a wonderful ball from free-kick to an unmarked Manuel Friedrich at the far post. The German scored his first goal of Indian Super League as he headed the ball straight into the goal.
The home team dominated the game with attacking in the last minutes of the match keeping Kolkata on the toes. Mumbai City FC won the match comfortably and grabbed all the three crucial points and is keeping their hopes alive for semis.
Pic courtesy : Goal