That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
So Mumbai City FC moves into the top-four of the 2019-20 ISL standings now. Meanwhile, NorthEast United FC stays ninth.
THE MATCH IS OVER!!!
90+4' YELLOW CARD!!! Nikhil takes out Chermiti with a shirt pull during Mumbai's counter. And the NorthEast players know for sure that it's done and dusted now.
90+2' Four minutes to be added on! Jorge Costa decides to bring in Raynier Fernandes for Sougou. FINAL CHANGE FOR MUMBAI!!
90' TWO YELLOWS IN THREE MINUTES!!! REAGAN SINGH IS SENT OFF! This is very silly from the NorthEast United player. Once again, Mumbai's Diego Carlos was the player who was brought down. Already trailing, NorthEast will have to do everything with just 10 men now.
87' CHANCE! NorthEast with a threatening move forward. Gallego tries to get into the box but Rafique comes to Mumbai's rescue by clearing it away. YELLOW CARD! Reagan Singh goes into the referee's book.
84' CORNER FOR MUMBAI!!! Larbi will take it as usual. It's a curler. However, the referee says the ball went out. He awards NorthEast a goalkick.
80' YELLOW CARD!!! Moudou Sougou is penalised for an extremely silly tackle and his Mumbai City FC coach Jorge Costa is also booked for arguing too much with the fourth official. Insane!!
79' SUBSTITUTION!!! Final change for NorthEast United tonight. Nikhil Kadam replaces Simon Lundevall for Robert Jarni's side.
78' Lost count of the number of times Diego Carlos was taken down today. Almost every NorthEast player is targeting him.
74' NorthEast is bringing numbers forward here. Mumbai is happy to park the bus. The away side should be careful while attacking because Mumbai has the pace to work out a quick counter-attack.
70' SUBSTITUTION!!! NorthEast United's second change of the match. Redeem Tlang finally makes his way in. Ninthoi is the player out.
67' CHANCE!!! This was NorthEast's perfect chance to equalise and Simon Lundevall, after a good run into the box, messes up his final shot.
63' Both teams haven't created many chances so far. It's been a very dull game. Since Mumbai is holding the lead, they will most probably fall back as well.
59' PENALTY CLAIMS??!! Lakra brings down Diego Carlos inside the box and the Mumbai players demand a spot-kick. However, the referee feels it was a clean tackle.
55' FREE-KICK FOR MUMBAI!! Larbi will take it and he decides to curl the ball on the outside of the wall. However, the shot misses the target by a bit.
51' NorthEast has scored just one goal away from home all season. This is its eighth away game and it hasn't even managed a shot on target. Poor stuff!
47' SECOND SUBSTITUTION FOR MUMBAI ALREADY!! Jorge Costa has no other option. He has to bring out the injured Subhasish Bose. Bipin takes his place in the field.
46' EARLY SUBSTITUTIONS HERE! Bidyananda replaces Sourav Das for Mumbai City and Martin Chaves comes in for Jose Leudo in NorthEast United's case.
THE SECOND-HALF BEGINS!
Arguably the best player on the pitch in the first-half, Diego Carlos scored the opener for Mumbai City on the night. The Brazilian forward was unlucky to receive a yellow card very early in the opening 45 minutes but he has redeemed himself now.
NorthEast United has a lot to do in second half as its season is falling apart. The team is finding it extremely hard to score goals right now. Someone has to step up and take the onus here. Forty-five more minutes to go. Stay Tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME!!!
45+1' Two minutes to be added on!!! And NorthEast wins a corner. Mumbai clears it out ANOTHER NE UNITED CORNER!! This time it's a poor one.
44' MUMBAI TAKES THE LEAD!!! DIEGO CARLOS SCORES! Larbi with another brilliant run on the left flank. His cross, however, heads straight to NorthEast defender Leudo whose clearance falls to Diego Carlos. The Mumbai forward dribbles past Reagan Singh and slots the ball home with his left foot.
42' FOUL!!! Reagan returns the favour on Carlos as he brings him down. But no yellow card this time. Free-kick for Mumbai.
39' SAVE! Amrinder could have done better as he palms away a shot from Ninthoi Meetei. That ball could have landed anywhere. A huge sigh of relief on the faces of the Mumbai players.
36' POSSIBLE HANDBALL??!! Valpuia in an attempt to clear the ball away hit it on to his own arm and NorthEast players are furious here as the referee doesn't give them a spot-kick. Very close call!!
32' CORNER FOR NORTHEAST! Skipper Gallego came up with a brilliant through ball and Mumbai defender Valpuia timed his tackle to perfection as he gets the ball out of the reach of Keogh.
28' VERY CLOSE!!!! THE BALL HITS THE POST! Diego Carlos with a delightful run and he cuts in to pass the ball into the box. Sougou does a dummy and Borges receives the ball. But his shot is blocked and the rebound falls to Sougou whose final shot hits the crossbar on the keeper's right.
27' THROW-IN!!! This is from a dangerous position for NorthEast. The throw somehow reaches Leudo who tries to go for a long ranger as there is no one blocking him. But it is way off the target.
25' FREE-KICK FOR MUMBAI! Chermiti and Larbi square up to take it and it is the former who ends up doing the formalities. This was a poor shot directed straight at the NorthEast wall.
22' Mumbai with the better possession and pass percentage so far, while NorthEast United has slightly better attacking stats.
19' ANOTHER YELLOW CARD!!! The second one of the night goes to a Mumbai player as well. Mohammad Rafique brings down Provat Lakra with a terrible sliding tackle.
17' A move forward by Valpuia and as he tries to find Amine Chermiti in front of him he gets dispossessed. Good stuff from the NorthEast defence.
14' CLOSE! A very good cross from Mohamed Larbi. And Diego Carlos misses a free header. A glorious opportunity wasted by Mumbai. The ball goes over the bar for a goalkick.
11' CORNER FOR MUMBAI NOW! The kick is taken and Rowllin Borges fouls the keeper Subhasish Roy as the referee blows his whistle.
9' CORNER FOR NE UNITED!! But it is a poor one as the Mumbai defence clears it away pretty easily.
7' EARLY YELLOW CARD!!!! Mumbai's Diego Carlos goes into the referee's book for a foul on Reagan Singh of NorthEast United.
5' Mumbai City players are passing a lot in midfield to stop NorthEast's flow. No clearcut chance created by both teams yet.
2' NorthEast United has started this game well. Positive intent on display from its forwards. Several moves up front already.
AND WE'RE UNDERWAY!!
We're few moments away from the start of the match.
The players are out!
TEAM LINEUPS:
MATCH PREVIEW:
The onus will be on Mumbai City FC
to climb among the top four when it comes up against NorthEast United FC
at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Friday evening.
Mumbai, placed fifth on the Indian Super League table, can leapfrog Odisha FC in the fourth position and go two points clear with a victory over the visitor. After a disappointing 1-1 draw against Hyderabad FC in its previous outing, Jorge Costa’s men need to bounce back.
Modou Sougou is expected to be fit to start the game which will boost Mumbai’s attack. However, it will miss the suspended Pratik Chowdhary, who has amassed four yellow cards. The 19-year-old Hmingthan Mawia is expected to partner Mato Grgic at the back as Mumbai will look for its third win on home soil this season.
Rowllin Borges has been in impressive form alongside Sourav Das as their understanding has only grown in the last couple of games. Mumbai struggled to create chances against Hyderabad and Costa is expected to change his tactics in order to ensure his forwards have more to work with.
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“I am sure my players will give their best. I can change one or two players in the team but not my system. I don't know what will happen or the end of the season but I know we are trying and working hard. All points lost at this stage are difficult to recover, but we will give our best to win the game,” said Costa.
The visitor has several issues to address. It has scored the least number of goals this season – nine. Add to that, the Highlanders have only scored three times away from home. In their last three away games, they haven’t scored a single goal either. They have lacked creativity in midfield, often struggling to carve open the opposition in most games.
Injuries haven’t helped their cause as star signing Asamoah Gyan spent considerable time on the sidelines before being ruled out for the season. Federico Gallego hasn’t yet hit his peak form since his return from the injury he suffered in the play-offs last season.
New signing Andy Keogh and Simon Lundevall are yet to acclimatise and gel with the rest of the team-mates. Placed ninth on the table, Robert Jarni’s side cannot afford to drop any points if it is to harbour the slimmest hopes of making it into the play-offs.
In defence, however, Mislav Komorski and goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury have impressed and have largely been responsible for restricting the number of goals they have conceded. NorthEast is on a run of eight matches without a win and badly needs a spark.
The match can be viewed live on Star Sports 2 and 2 HD from 7.30 pm, while Hotstar will provide live streaming online.
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