Welcome to Sportstar's highlights of this evening's Kerala Blasters vs Mumbai City FC Indian Super League (ISL 2021-22) clash being played at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Goa.
This was Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this high-voltage clash.
That was all for the night. We will be back tomorrow when ATK Mohun Bagan plays Chennaiyin FC . Thanks for tuning in tonight and take very good care of yourselves.
Updated Points Table:
Updated Stats Table:
Match Report:
Full Time
Kerala Blasters 3-1 Mumbai City FC
Two goals by Alvaro Vazquez and a courageous solo goal by Sahal Abdul Samad secured three crucial points for Ivan Vukomanovic's men as Kerala Blasters completed a league double over the Islanders for the first time ever.
90+2' Bipin crosses in another long cross from the right, but the ball misses everybody to go out for a goal kick. Frustration in the faces of MCFC players and the head coach as the loss clearly makes a semifinal spot for the defending champion extremely difficult
90' Substitution for KBFC! In: Chencho Gyeltsen, Out: Alvaro Vazquez
86' Substitution for KBFC! In: Prasanth Karuthadathkuni , Out: Ayush Adhikari
85' Substitution for MCFC! In: Raynier Fernandes, Out: Cassio Gabriel
84' Bipin Singh crosses the ball long, from right for Chhangte, who rushes in at the far post, but Rahul makes sure he is not able to get a touch on the ball
81' Save! Luna goes for goal from a free kick in the midfield and his shot hits the post andon bthe follow up Vazquez tries to guide the ball in, but this time, Nawaz saves it to deny the KBFC forward his hattrick at the moment
80' Yellow Card! Cassio and Ayush go for the ball and Ayush goes f=down holding his feet as the referee puts Cassio in the book
78' As the match resumes after the water break, Luna takes the free kick, but Diaz's header to the same is just off target as KBFC goes on another attack on the follow up, with Luna's cross met by Rahul this time as the ball goes out for a goal kick
71' GOOAAAALLLLL!!!!Mauricio shoots a bullet of a shot as Gill jumps to the other end.
KBFC 3-1 MCFC
69' Penalty! MCFC's corner kick taken and Mauricio goes to the ground as the referee points to the spot
68' Diaz makes a great run along the right, beats Mehtab and cuts to his left and just before his cross is, snubbed by Fall to stop the attack
66' Substitution for MCFC! In: Diego Mauricio, Out: Igor Angulo
64' Never before has the Kerala Blasters completed a league double against the Islanders. This time, though, that certainly looks a possibility now
60' GOOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!! A horrendous error by Nawaz gifts Vazquez his second goal as KBFC goes three up front
KBFC 3-0 MCFC
59' Cassio delivers a long ball for Angulo, who tries to set up Inman, but Inman's run was late as KBFC clears the ball away and then Chhangte crosses from the other side and Gill is there to mitigate that attack
56' Chhangte takes the free kick this time and Fall connects. However, the defenders fails to keep the header on target as MCFC misses a chance to pull one back
55' Free Kick! Cassio Gabriel steps up to take the free kick and has a chat with set-piece specialist Mourtada Fall. He takes the free kick, which hits the wall and in the follow up, gets another free kick at the edge of the box
54' Chance! Bipin crosses form the left to Angulo, but Angulo's shot is off target in the circumstances as KBFC defenders cut out spaces for the Spanish forward
52' Vikram makes a run into the box, receives th ball and tries to go for goal himself, with Inamn at a better position to score. His shot is stopped easily as he apologises to Inman
49' Yellow Card! Chhangte fouls Luna and gets into the book, becoming the second MCFC player to get the yellow card tonight after Rahul Bheke -- both of whom will miss the last fixture
49' The ball, once cleared by MCFC, falls for Luna, who move to his right and shoots, which almost gets in, flying whislers away from goal
48' Miss! Puitea makes a run along the right wing and passes to Diaz, whose cross is met by Vazquez on the volley, which goes out a deflection from Mehtab
47' Buckingham has decided to go for a back three as MCFC's despair to score looks more and more evident. Angulo, meanwhile gets ruled offside, getting caught in the offside trap yet again
46' Substitution for Mumbai City FC! In: Vikram Singh, Out: Mandar Dessai
Second Half Begins!
Half-Time
Kerala Blasters 2-0 Mumbai City FC
45+2' GOALLL!!!!!! Vazquez skips and shoots to leave Nawaz on the other side of the goal and doiubles KBFC's lead at the brink of Half-Time
KBFC 2-0 MCFC
45+1' Penalty! Vazquez makes a run on the other end and Fall tries to stop him and brings him down in the box as the referee points to the spot
45' Shot! Bipin makes a run alongthe left wings, cuts in right to leave Sandeep on the ground and shoots. However, the ball is just wide. The KBFC defenders were beaten. But sadly, so was the goal
42' Cassio flies in a long ball from the midfield and Gill rushes to grab it before the MCFC forwards are able to reach it. Gill looks to be getting better with every match and has filled in beautifully into boots of Albino Gomes
39' Luna's free kick for Leskovic is intercepted by Fall, whose header goes out for a corner kick. Puitea takes it, which is again headed out by Fall and then Sandeep goes for goal with a shot from the edge of the box, only to see the ball go off target
37' Free Kick! Cassio Gabriel takes the free kick form the midfield as Chhngte rushes to get to the ball from the right, but is ruled offisde.
35' Off Side! Another offside for Angulo and the Spaniard is furious! A wry smile by the linesman as he raises the flag
33' Corner for KBFC as Mourtada Fall's clearance is ruled out of play. Puitea takes the corner kick, which swings right into the gloves of Nawaz
30' Sahal and Vazquez pair up for an attack, but is surrounded by the blue-white shirts and the ball is finally supplied to Gill, who passes it to Luna. Luna is fouled by Bheke and play stops for a water break.
28' Cassio takes the corner kick for MCFC as Gill comes out to fist the ball away and Bipin's sprint for the same is marked well by Sahal for a throw-in in favour of KBFC
26' Free Kick! Vazquez takes the free kick, which beats the wall, but Nawaz is there to gobble the ball.
24' Offside! Angulo makes a run into the KBFC box, but gets caight in the offside trap to end the attack for the boys in blue tonight
19' GOAAALLLLLLLL!!!!! Sahal steals the ball at the edge of the box, dribbles across the MCFC defence and shoots. Nawaz almost stared at the ball as the KBFC boy scores to put the Blasters in front
KBFC 1-0 MCFC
16' Shot! Inman and Cassio pair up in the midfield as the former passes to the latter and Cassio shoots off target from distance
15' A mistake by MCFC as Diaz rushes to get to the ball, but his cross is received late by Sandeep and Kerala misses yet another chance to score
13' Another shot! KBFC continues attacking with Diaz setting up Ayush, who tries to do a Liston Colaco from distance, but this time too, the ball flies over the goal
12' Chance! Luna switches play with a gorgeous long ball on the other end of the field and Sandeep receives it and goes for goal, but shoots off target
10' Off Side! Angulo tries to make a run alondside the KBFC defence to steal an aerial long ball, but is rules offside as Leskovic traps him
9' Angulo gets the ball after a header from Fall and settles the ball to his feet and shoots on target. Gill, the leader in the Golden Glove race catches it comfortably
7' Mourtada Fall clears with his head a Inman makes a run on the other end and and Leskovic blocks his shot as he goes down after a high boot by Puitea. No foul, however.
How is that not a penalty?!
4' KBFC concede a corner as Hormipam tries to clear Mandar's cross. Cassio takes the corner kick, which is cleared away by Diaz.
2' The free kick by Puitea is knocked in by Diaz, but the ball is cleared away out of danger by the MCFC defence
1' Chhangte steals the ball at the edge of the box and crosses, but Gill is there to catch the ball and get the ball back into play as Diaz makes a run and is brought down by Mehtab for a foul on the other end.
Kick off!
Kerala Blasters starts in its yellow-and-blue kit, while Mumbai City is its blue-and-white home kit.
7:25 pm: The players are out on the ground and will line themselves up for the National Anthem of India, after which they will take their positions for a contest that promises to be a decider of who will get into the top four with just one match to spare.
7:15 pm: What are the coaches saying?
7:00 pm: The last time the two sides met, KBFC came out victorious with a 3-0 scoreline in its favour. In case you missed it, we've got you covered with the highlights.
Read it here: ISL 2021-22 Highlights Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters
6:38 pm: Starting Lineups are out!
Kerala Blasters Starting XI: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Sandeep, Hormipam, Marko Leskovic, Sanjeev Stalin, Sahal Samad, Adrian Luna (C), Ayush Adhikari, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Alvaro Vazquez.
Mumbai City FC Starting XI: Mohamad Nawaz (GK), Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, Mourtada Fall (C), Mandar Dessai, Apuia Ralte, Cassio Gabriel, Bradden Inman, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Igor Angulo
6:15 pm: HEAD-TO-HEAD : Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC have locked horns 15 times in the past and MCFC has come out on top six times and has drawin as many games, while the Blasters has won just thrice.
6:00 pm: Here is how we feel the two sides could line up today!
Kerala Blasters Predicted XI: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Sanjeev Stalin, Bijoy V, Marko Leskovic, Sahal Samad, Adrian Luna (C), Nishu Kumar, Ayush Adhikari, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Chencho Gyeltshen, Alvaro Vazquez.
Mumbai City FC Predicted XI: Mohamad Nawaz (GK), Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, Mourtada Fall (C), Mandar Dessai, Cassio Gabriel, Bradden Inman, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Igor Angulo, Diego Mauricio.
5:45 pm: Players to watch out for:
Kerala Blasters - Adrian Luna - The Uruguayan has been a vital cog in the Blasters' attack and has been clinical with his free kicks. He has scored five goals and has assisted seven more in KBFC's total goal tally of 27.
Mumbai City FC - Igor Angulo - The Golden Boot Winner last season has missed his shooting boots in the latter half of the season, but when he gets going, Mumbai City looks unstoppable.
The last time he scored, MCFC thrashed an in-form Odisha FC 4-1. In spite of his fluctuating form, his goal tally is the second highest in the league so far (10).
MATCH PREVIEW
Kerala Blasters faces Mumbai City FC in the must-win match for both teams in the Hero ISL at the Tilak Maidan stadium on Wednesday.
With a point separating the two teams, a win is imperative for either fourth placed Mumbai City (31 points) or the fifth placed Kerala Blasters’ (30 points) to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Kerala Blasters needs at least four points from its next two matches – Blaster’s last match is against ninth placed FC Goa on Sunday - and a win against Mumbai will take it closer to the play-offs.
ALSO READ |
Mumbai will also be eyeing a win over Kerala Blasters as it will take its point tally to 34 points. And Mumbai doesn’t want to leave it late as it plays the league topper Odisha FC in its last match.
Kerala Blasters, which was very much the underdog, played one of its best matches this season when it blanked the then table toppers Mumbai City 3-0 when the sides met last time in December.
Kerala Blasters has since then blown hot and cold this season. The last minute blues has continued to haunt the team time and again and it needs to be on the top of its game against Mumbai.
RELATED | ISL 2021-22 Highlights Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters
Adrian Luna, Alvaro Vasquez and Jorge Pereyra Diaz have delivered it for Kerala Blasters when it mattered. However, Abdul Samad after showing good form at the start of the season has faded away.
Kerala will want the trio to fire against Mumbai which will have to shore up its leaky defence. Key marksman Igor Angulo will hold the aces for Mumbai which has shown consistency in the last couple of games.
Where can you watch the match?
Comments
SHARE