ISL 2021-22: Champion Mumbai City FC too good for ATK Mohun Bagan in 5-1 win

Man of the Match, Vikram Partap Singh of Mumbai City FC scored two goals in his first start in the Indian Super League.

The Islanders climb to the top of the table after their 5-1 win against the Mariners.

Defending champion Mumbai City FC continued its dominance over last year’s runner-up ATK Mohun Bagan as it downed the latter in a glut of goals (5-1) to assert its supremacy once again, in an ISL season eight fixture at Fatorda on Wednesday evening.

The Islanders took the attack route right from the start and caught ATKMB by surprise with its fitness and speed. It was the raw energy of its young Indians in the attack that fetched the rewards. The combination of Vikram Pratap Singh and Bipin Singh came well initially for MCFC which went up 2-0 by the 25th minute.

Vikram got the first goal in the fourth minute with a rasping grounder that went through the defences of the ATK MB goalkeeper Amrinder Singh.

AS IT HAPPENED: ISL 2021-2022 ATK Mohun Bagan vs Mumbai City FC Highlights: Youngsters shine for MCFC as it thrashes ATKMB 5-1

The ATKMB citadel fell again in the 25th minute as MCFC’s surprise package Vikram came at the end of another pin-point accurate cross from Bipin and doubled the lead. The 19-year-old forward, who graduated from the AIFF development side Indian Arrows, was surely helped by the match officials who could not detect his hand-of-God effort.

Replays showed the ball hit Singh’s outstretched arm as he made a sliding effort to send the rebound home after his first effort came off Amrinder. Igor Angulo scored the third in the 38th minute to compound ATKMB’s agonies before last year’s runner-up was reduced to 10 men in the 46th minute when its defender Dipak Tangri was sent off with a red card.

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ATK Mohun Bagan played the long-ball tactics without much gain as the MCFC defence was sharp enough to cut off the former’s attack and initiated quick counterattacks. Mumbai City looked more assured in its approach as it kept the ball on the ground and played the short-passing game with fine accuracy to establish its hegemony in the attacking third.

Mourtada Fall made it 4-0 nodding home a Ahmed Jahouh free-kick following Tangri’s exit before Bipin Singh fetched the fifth in the 52nd minute to complete ATK MB’s rout. David Williams came in as a late second-half substitute and scored from a brilliant solo effort and ensured that the Islanders did not maintain a clean sheet.