This is Sportstar's ISL 2020-21 blog of the FC Goa vs Mumbai City FC match which will be played at the Fatoda Stadium on Friday.
That's all we have for the night. Tomorrow we wil be back for the second semifinal between NorthEast United and ATK Mohun Bagan. Until then, it's good night.
Juan Ferrando "[On chat with Match commissioner] I prefer not to talk about it. Eevrybody saw the game and saw the strange decisions. I had 6 players with big injuries. Princeton maybe out for one month. edu Bedia played with pain after tackle against HFC. Its impossible to play football here. At the end, I have good squad but I am scared of the injuries. I want to play football. We made a different system to win against Mumbai. Its necssary to focus on other details but. Squad of Mumbai is very good and expensive, Difficult to work in these situations. [All out approach for 2nd leg?] Fistly, I need to know who is available to play. I really have 10 players in squad, I need to talk to medical staff on Sunday to prepare. Coaching staff are working everyday. We made different plan from the previus games against Mumbai. First game it was 4-2-3-1, then second game we had a 4-4-2 in defence and today it was 4-3-3."
Sergio Lobera "Today I am not happy and because I think we had chances to score more goals. We need to be more clincial. We didnt have control of the game and they have the ball and they were comfortable for ling periods. We had our chances but we didnt take advantage. We need to win possession against the team. Against ATKMB, it was important to win possession and have control. Today, it was not possible. [On if he named an attacking line-up with Noguera, Gonzalez missing?] We needed to take advantage of the players missing in Goa. In between distance between lines it was not possble to have possession. We need to think but I dont have much time for preparation."
Mourtada Fall "[Lack of celebration] Of course, because Goa was my team. I did it for the fans. [On tackle in end and if it was red card worthy] No, because I try to get the ball. My leg is down and not up. If it was up then it was red. My intention was to go for the ball. [Preparation] No time. We need to recover and prepare well to reach final. No, we weren't favourite. We tried and we had a good opponent in front of us. It wasnt an easy game but we are not happy with result."
Post match comments to follow...
Juan Ferrando is seen having a right go at the match commissioner. Princeton is being stretchered away. Both Princeton and Seriton will likely miss the second leg.
A thrilling first leg ends 2-2 and is set up nicely for the decider on Monday. Both teams gave it all, some moments of brilliance, some errors and plenty of bite in this contest. It was the former Goa men, Boumous and Fall, who scored to bring Mumbai back on level terms on both occasions. There were some questionable refereeing decisions which Goa wasn't happy about.
FULL-TIME
90'+6' From the free-kick Adil turns and fires in a shot which is given as a corner. Mumbai players are furious. There was no touch from a Mumbai player.
90'+5' Yellow card for Bedia but the freekick goes in favour of Mumbai. Gama is booked as well.
90'+4' FCG SUB: Princeton OFF, Pandita ON
No substitutions for Mumbai tonight.
91'+2' Yellow card for Fall for a two-footed tackle on Princeton. He is lucky to escape a straight red. Free-kick awarded near the left side outside Mumbai's box. It's only a throw in.
Three minutes of added time.
90' Yellow card for Jahouh for a handball.
89' Ortiz beats one man and runs into the box but he can't control the bouncing ball allowing Fall to come and make the block.
85' Angulo on the turn fires it into the net but the referee calls for a handball in the build-up where Princeton's firece hit struck the striker's arm.
84' Le Fondre with a superb down the right and fires in a cross but D'Cunha makes a crucial interception.
83' Fall meets the corner at the near post and it's deflected behind for another corner.
82' Bipin runs down the left and plays in a cross which is deflected behind for a corner.
78' FCG SUB: Romario OFF, Devendra ON
76' Fall with a crucial block as Gama runs into the box to play in a cross. Fall ends up conceding a corner. DRINKS BREAK TAKEN
73' Ohh.. Vignesh makes an inadvertent flick on header at the near post from the corner but luckily for him Fall is on the end of it and blocks it in front of goal.
72' Romario looks to fire the ball on goal from distance but its deflected behind for a corner.
67' Another foul from Martins. His sixth of the night. He will need to reign it in if he is to complete the full 90 minutes.
64' Glan Martins brings down Raynier from behind. He is finally booked.
READ | Mourtada Fall equals Chhetri's record for most headers in ISL history
61' GOAL! MOURTADA FALL HAS DONE IT AGAIN! After the corner is cleared out of the Goa box, the players push high up but the ball is recyled to the left for Jahouh, who plays in an inswinging delivery which Fall powers it down into the ground and into the net!
59' GOAL! SAVIOUR GAMA WITH A SUPERB STRIKE! He picks up the ball inside his own half and drives forward into the Mumbai half and to the edge of box before unleashing a low drive into the bottom corner of the net! Amrinder fives btu he can't get his hand to it.
During the league stages in this ISL season, FC Goa won only 1 of the 10 games it was drawing at half-time (D6 L3).
55' Mandar played down the right and he checks on to his left and crosses into the box where Ogbeche powers a header towards goal but the ball narrowly misses the frame of the goal.
54' Martins with another foul this time on Boumous. He is courting a caution with the number of fouls he has conceded this half.
53' Martins clatters into Jahouh and concedes a freekick.
52' Good duel between Fall and Ortiz near the Mumbai byline and the centre-back wins the duel in the end.
49' CHANCE! Boumous plays in a cut-back into the box for an unmarked Ogbeche but the striker blazes ir over the bar! Good run from le Fondre from the midfield into the Goa in the lead-up to the move.
48' Jahouh catches Ortiz with a kick. Foul called against Mumbai.
47' Mehtab pushes out of his line to intercept a through ball from Saviour to find teh run of Angulo. Well-timed from the centre-back.
46' Goa gets the second period underway.
SECOND HALF
A superb half of football with both teams up for the occasion. Goa seems to have been set up to punish any mistakes at the back from Mumbai and on the break. Angulo put Goa in front from the spot but Boumous, on his return, equalised against his old team. Ortiz appears to be the biggest threat to Mumbai with his dribbling and direct running.
HALF-TIME
45'+3' Fall runs into meet a corner kick but Dheeraj reaches the ball first and punches it away. But Fall ends up clattering into the 'keeper.
45'+1' Mandar is booked for a poor foul on Princeton.
Three minutes of added time.
45' SAVE! A cross is played in from the left and Ogbeche gets his header on target but Dheeraj makes a sprawling save.
44' Another shout for a penalty! Ortiz goes past two Mumbai players before going down inside the box. Referee says no penalty. Goa players and bench can't believe it.
42' Le Fondre is booked for a foul on Saviour.
41' Bedia smashes his free-kick into the wall. Bedia is down on the ground after that free-kick.
39' GOAL! Hugo Boumous scores against his former side and equalises! He turns away from Bedia and looks to thread the ball in behind the defence but it ends up being an inadvertent one-two with Gama and the ball falls in the path of the Frenchman. He takes his time and fires a volley into the bottom corner!
36' The ball finds Bipin ouside the box from a Mumbai corner. He checks away from his marker and fires in a shot with his left-foot but it flies wide.
34' FCG SUB: Seriton OFF, Leander D'Cunha ON
32' Freekick for Mumbai. Jahouh's freekick doesn't have much air and is into le Fondre, whose flicked effort goes wide.
30' Drinks break taken
28' Goa on the counter as Ortiz runs past two markers in midfield to play in Romario in space on the right. Romario looks to pick out Princeton's run on the far post but the ball is cut off.
Seriton seems to be strugglingwith an injury and is off the field for the moment.
26' Rare blip at the back for Goa as Ogbeche ghosts in behind Seriton and Boumous finds him with a through ball. With time to take his shot, Ogbeche fires it on goal but Dheeraj pushes it behind for a corner.
23' Ortiz robs the ball off Mandar near the touchline and drives into the middle and curls a shot from distance. Luckily for Amrinder the ball flies wide of the far post.
20' GOAL! Angulo puts Goa in the lead. He sends Amridner the wrong way as Angulo curls it into the top corner of the net.
20' PENALTY! Ortiz is cleaned up by Mandar from behind inside the box as Romario squares it for the Goa winger.
18' Jahouh is down on the ground. He seems uncomfortable.
16' Loose back pass from Mandar from the right back and Romario latches on it for a break from Goa. Vignesh catches Romario's feet as they go tumbling into the box but the referee says no foul.
15' Ortiz drives forward and squares it for Martins to hit from distance but Jahouh makes a well-timed tackle to stop the midfielder from having a go. Martins manages to play the ball into the box for Romario but Bipin does well to force him wide.
12' Le Fondre from the right swings in a superb cross along the face of the goal and Bipin, who was coming in at the far post, can't time his run well to meet the delivery.
Mumbai dominating possession so far. 57 to 43.
10' Jahouh looks to find Boumous with his free-kick but the Frenchman can't get on the end of it.
9' Glan Martins catches Jahouh with a late tackle. It seemed like the referee would go for a yellow card but decided against it.
Princeton seems to be playing as the farthest forward midfielder among Bedia and Martins.
5' Ortiz from the left slips in a pass to Saviour inside the box and the left-back takes a first-time shot which requires a save at the near post by Amrinder.
4' Boumous races on to a through ball down the right and plays in a cut-back but it doesn't find the feet of a Mumbai player.
2' Saviour intercepts a stray pass and darts into the Mumbai box but has his cutback cut out by Fall.
1' Mumbai City kicks off from left to right.
FIRST HALF
LIVE UPDATES
7.25 PM: Both teams make their way out to the middle.
6.45 PM: Three changes for Mumbai, too. Pranjil, Hernan Santana, Amey Ranawade - OUT. Hugo Boumis is back after his four-match ban. Vignesh Dakshniamurthy returns after a one-game suspension and Mehtab Singh will slot in at centre-back. Boumous, le Fondre and Ogbeche all start together. This is the first time the three will start together since Mumbai's opening day defeat to NorthEast United FC.
6.40 PM: Seriton Fernandes and Jorge Ortiz are back for Goa. Noguera, Gonzalez, Tlang make way from the goalless draw against Hyderabad FC. Princeton Rebello is the third change. Juan Ferrando has gone with two No. 6 and Edu Bedia will likely be pushed up in an attacking role.
6.30 PM: The team news is in
FC Goa XI (4-2-3-1)
Dheeraj Singh; Seriton Fernandes, James Donachie, Adil Khan, Saviour Gama; Princeton Rebello, Glan Martins; Alexander Jesuraj, Edu Bedia, Jorge Ortiz; Igor Angulo.
Mumbai City FC XI (4-2-3-1)
Amrinder Singh; Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Mourtada Fall, Mehtab Singh, Mandar Rao Dessai; Ahmed Jahouh, Raynier Fernandes; Adam le Fondre, Hugo Boumous, Bipin Singh; Bartholomew Ogbeche.
6.20 PM: FC Goa and Mumbai City have the best passing accuracy in this season of the Indian Super League, 81.5% and 81.4% respectively. 7,391 of its 9,069 passes were successful for Goa, while 7,371 of its 9,058 passes were successful for the Islanders. None of the other teams in the league had attempted over 8,000 passes, with the closest being SC East Bengal who attempted 7854 passes.
6.15 PM: Mumbai City and FC Goa have registered the most sequences with 10+ passes this season, 211 and 205 respectively. However, Mumbai failed to register even one such sequence during their last match against ATK Mohun Bagan.
6 PM: Here's how the teams could line-up
FC Goa predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Dheeraj Singh; Mohammed Ali, James Donachie, Adil Khan, Saviour Gama; Edu Bedia, Glan Martins; Alexander Jesuraj, Jorge Mendoza, Redeem Tlang; Igor Angulo.
Mumbai City FC predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Amrinder Singh; Mohammed Rakip, Mourtada Fall, Hernan Santana, Mandar Rao Dessai; Ahmed Jahouh, Raynier Fernandes; Pranjal Bhumij, Hugo Boumous, Bipin Singh; Bartholomew Ogbeche.
We have got you covered for your fantasy FC Goa-Mumbai City FC XI. Captaincy pick: Igor Angulo
Combined FCG-MCFC XI
Amrinder Singh (MCFC); Mohammed Rakip (MCFC), Adil Khan (FCG), Mourtada Fall (MCFC), Saviour Gama (FCG); Raynier Fernandes (MCFC), Glan Martins (FCG), Jorge Mendoza (FCG), Hugo Boumous (MCFC); Bartholomew Ogbeche (MCFC), Igor Angulo (FCG)
5.45 pm: FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando has had among the most challenging start to life in India. In this episode of The Full Time Show, he speaks to Aashin Prasad about his maiden season in ISL, quarantine and player management, coaching style, contentious refereeing and his takeaways from the season.
Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 .
The seventh edition of the Indian Super League got underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa on November 20.
The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a league and playoff format across three venues. Following the inclusion of SC East Bengal, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Last year's League Winner FC Goa will face the newly crowned champion Mumbai City FC in the first semifinal of the Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao on Friday.
This first-leg clash will pit MCFC coach Sergio Lobera against his former employer, FCG, yet again. The Islanders on Sunday became the second team to lift the ISL Shield after edging out ATK Mohun Bagan on head-to-head record.
Lobera's men, alongside ATKMB, also matched Bengaluru FC's 2017/18 record for the most points (40) accumulated in a single ISL season. Meanwhile, the Gaurs will be featuring in the tournament's playoffs for a record-extending sixth time in seven years.
Goa head coach Juan Ferrando had a tough task in hand when he took over the club's reigns. Several experienced stars had departed, and there was a lot of business to be done in the transfer market.
FCG had no wins in its opening three games and its chances of making the playoffs looked bleak after managing eight points from seven encounters. But from there, Ferrando's side went on a 13-game unbeaten streak -- an ISL record for longest undefeated streak -- and sealed the spot.
"We started the season a little uneven in results, but we've entered the playoffs now. The biggest challenge was maintaining the commitment to demand the maximum of ourselves every day, despite the short pre-season, living in special circumstances (bio-bubble) and being under the pressure of results with a young team," said Ferrando on match eve.
The Spanish trio of Igor Angulo (13 goals), Alberto Noguera (one goal, eight assists) and Jorge Ortiz (six goals, one assist) have been central to Goa's progress so far.
"Igor, with his experience and work rate, has allowed us to play attacking football. Ortiz is an example of hard work and perseverance both in games and training. Noguera is undoubtedly the best midfielder in the league. I could spend hours talking about them," Ferrando added.
Speaking about the Gaurs' chances in the playoffs, the 40-year-old gaffer said: "I don’t think about how difficult a rival is, but about how to prepare the team to overcome a game. The next match will be a challenge because of injuries and cards, but I see it as another opportunity to continue improving."
On the other hand, MCFC was one of the favourites this time around. The team, majorly-owned by the City Football Group, claimed the first piece of silverware in its short history with some eye-catching football, otherwise known as 'Lobera-ball', on display.
"I'm very happy because CFG gave us everything, and now is the time to analyse the things we've achieved. I think my players deserved to win the shield, and hopefully, we can achieve another trophy. It means a lot to be playing in the AFC Champions League," the Spanish boss claimed.
The likes of Adam le Fondre (11 goals, one assist), Bartholomew Ogbeche (eight goals, two assists) and Hugo Boumous (two goals, seven assists) will be key for the Islanders.
"Facing Goa won’t make any difference for me. Now, I am in Mumbai City. We’re professionals, and we play the game the same way. Whichever team we face, we have to win the semifinal. It will be a tough game tomorrow, and we need to be prepared for it," added Lobera.
A stoppage-time penalty from Le Fondre gave MCFC a win when the two sides met for the first time this season, while Ishan Pandita's late equaliser rescued a point for FCG in the reverse fixture.
Goa will be without four players for the first leg. The list includes the injured duo of Brandon Fernandes, Seriton Fernandes and the suspended Noguera, Ivan Gonzalez.
Amey Ranawade is out for Mumbai after picking up his fourth booking of the season, while Boumous will return after serving a four-game suspension.
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