Welcome to Sportstar's ISL 2020-21 match blog of the title clash between ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC played at Goa's Fatorda Stadium.
Seven seasons down, many more to go. Thanks for tuning in!
So, we've come to the end of yet another Indian Super League season. Mumbai City FC has defeated ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the ISL 2020-21 final to lift yet another trophy this year.
MCFC manager Sergio Lobera: This is the result of hardwork. I want to thank my players, staff, the magnificent fans, the management and all our families. It was a difficult situation at half-time. I told my players to focus on the game. I told them Amey is a strong player and he would want us to win this for him. The level of Indian players is the key to win trophies. They learn a lot everyday and prove themselves on the field. It's not only about Bipin Singh because he scored the winner, I always talk about the collective effort. To win two trophies this season is amazing. We've created history and there's hopefully more to come in the future.
ALSO READ |
ALSO READ | ISL 2021: Igor Angulo wins Golden Boot
ATKMB star David Williams: I haven't been in a losing final before. This is very disappointing. It's hard to take this at the moment. I don't know what to say. We were in the game till the very end. But one moment of lapse in concentration put us on the backfoot. We deserved better. I would love to be back in India next year and try to compete in another final. But I have to figure out what's best for my family before coming to a decision. We just want to have a drink tomorrow and talk about all this later. I feel gutted for the entire team.
RELATED |
MCFC forward Adam Le Fondre: I think we deserved this win. This is for Amey. It was a horrible injury. And, it was difficult to focus after that. However, we are victorious. I'm extremely happy. They (ATKMB) came out with a high press at the beginning. But once we got the flow, we started taking over from them. This win is like the icing on the cake. I came to India from Australia to win trophies. I knew the vision of City Football Group and liked it immediately. I also liked the the coach's vision. Lobera put out a particular style and the players executed it to perfection. We triumphed in style.
READ |
MCFC striker Bartholomew Ogbeche: Thanks to God for giving me all this. It's not sunk in yet. The feeling is great. I just tried to stay calm. The goalkeeper (Arindam Bhattacharja) was a bit overconfident there by coming off his line. I just decided to dribble past him and succeeded. I told before the final that I would score the best goal of the tournament, but now I've provided the best assist of the tournament. We were touched by Amey Ranawade's injury. We tried to lift us up after that. At half time, we were down. ATKMB is a difficult team to play against. But we knew how to beat them. I'm so glad that I was able to do this with Mumbai. MI won in cricket and now we've won in football. Mumbai rules!
Post match reactions from both the camps coming up next.....
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
Captain Amrinder Singh lifts the ISL 2020-21 trophy and joins the rest of his Mumbai City FC squad to celebrate! The Islanders have won their first ISL playoffs title in style!!!
The MCFC players receive their gold medals here. They get Rs. 8 crore in cash as well.
The ATKMB players receive their silver medals now. They will also receive a cheque of Rs. 4 crore.
Golden Ball Award (Best Player of ISL 2020-21): ATK Mohun Bagan forward Roy Krishna.
Emerging Indian Player of the Year: NorthEast United midfielder Lalengmawia.
Golden Boot Award (Top goal-scorer): FC Goa striker Igor Angulo for 14 goals.
Golden Glove Award (Best Goalkeeper): ATK Mohun Bagan custodian Arindam Bhattacharja for ten clean sheets.
Winning Pass of the League (Most Assists): FC Goa playmaker Alberto Noguera for eight assists.
IT IS TIME FOR THE POST SEASON AWARDS!
MUMBAI CITY FC COMPLETES THE DOUBLE BY WINNING BOTH THE ISL LEAGUE WINNERS' SHIELD AND PLAYOFFS TROPHY THIS SEASON!!!!!
AND IT IS FULL-TIME! FINAL SCORE: MUMBAI CITY FC 2 - 1 ATK MOHUN BAGAN!!!
90+4' MCFC WINS YET ANOTHER TROPHY IN 2021!
90+2' Four minutes of stoppage time were added on at the end of the second half! Marcelinho has replaced Javier Hernandez in the middle for ATKMB.
90' GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!! BIPIN SINGH SCORES!!! MUMBAI CITY FC 2 - 1 ATK MOHUN BAGAN!!!!! This was a long ball from midfield. Sandesh Jhingan and Tiri were close to it, amid pressure from MCFC striker Bartholomew Ogbeche. The ATKMB defensive duo decided to leave the ball for their goalkeeper Arindam, who wasn't able to collect it clearly. Ogbeche eventually got to the ball, dribbled past Arindam and Tiri and sent the ball towards Bipin, who found the back of the net.
87' YELLOW CARD! Tiri receives a yellow card now. He fouls Goddard with a mistimed tackle. The referee has a word with the penalised player.
85' CHANGE! ATK Mohun Bagan manager Antonio Habas finally makes a substitution. He decides to bring back Lenny Rodrigues and introduce Jayesh Rane into the match. Habas looks extremely animated on the sidelines.
83' SUBSTITUTION! Hugo Boumous is taken off by MCFC manager Sergio Lobera now. He makes way for Cy Goddard here. Both Boumous and Le Fondre weren't looking happy when they left the field.
81' CROSS! Manvir Singh, who did well to move past several opposition players on the right wing, puts in a poor low cross into the box. The MCFC backline gets away with it easily.
79' ATKMB players frustrate MCFC by playing a string of passes. Ogbeche and Bipin are trying to attack the ball but aren't able to regain possession. Foul and it's a dead ball situation for ATK Mohun Bagan.
76' AND IT IS TIME FOR THE FINAL DRINKS BREAK OF THE MATCH!
74' FOUL! MCFC full-back Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, who has been already booked tonight, comes up with a silly tackle on David Williams. The referee gives him a final warning.
72' VERY CLOSE! Javi Hernandez receives the ball from Manvir Singh and sprints forward. He takes a shot on target. MCFC keeper Amrinder Singh tries to push the ball away. It hits the post and goes out for a corner.
70' SUBSTITUTION! MCFC head coach Sergio Lobera decides to bring on Bartholomew Ogbeche to replace Adam Le Fondre on the field. Like-for-like striker replacement in the middle here.
67' CHANCE FOR ATKMB! Javier Hernandez gets the ball in a good position. He wastes some time before taking a shot from a narrow angle. His effort goes wide off target. The Mariners bench doesn't look happy.
64' Mumbai has played the 'Sergio Lobera way' right from the start tonight. The Islanders have dominated possession. Mohun Bagan coach Antonio Habas has also worked out his strategy to perfection, playing from the back and initiating counter-attacks.
61' GOAL DISALLOWED! This was an ATKMB free-kick taken by Javier Hernandez. Roy Krishna was in an offside position as the ball came into the middle. But it was Rakip who diverted the ball past Amrinder into his own net. The referee feels Krishna was in the way, thereby distracting the MCFC player and keeper. Hence, the goal is not awarded to ATKMB.
58' WHAT A MISS! Hugo Boumous received the ball from Bipin Singh and rushed forward. He set up Adam Le Fondre in the box. The MCFC striker took a shot on target. However, Arindam pushed the ball away. It fell to Boumous again. The playmaker fired the ball over the post from close range.
55' YELLOW CARD! Pritam Kotal becomes the second ATK Mohun Bagan player after Carl McHugh to be booked tonight. He tripped Mumbai City FC winger Bipin Singh from behind and was penalised by the referee.
53' Mohamad Rakip has come on for the injured Amey Ranawade. Mumbai City FC has confirmed on Twitter that Ranawade suffered a possible head injury. Rakip has been busy on the right flank already.
INJURY UPDATE |
51' CORNER FOR MCFC! Hugo Boumous takes a short corner. He receives the ball back and tries to put in a cross into the box. But Tiri makes the clearance. The rebound falls to Adam Le Fondre who isn't able to get a shot away.
48' CHANCE FOR ATKMB! Roy Krishna crosses the ball into the box from the left flank. It falls to Manvir Singh in the middle. He sets up Lenny Rodrigues just outside the box. However the midfielder's shot goes out of play after a deflection.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
There are only 45 minutes, plus extra-time if needed, left in the 2020-21 Indian Super League. One among ATKMB or MCFC will be crowned ISL champion for the first time. Stay tuned!
David Williams gave ATK Mohun Bagan the lead in the 18th minute. Just 11 minutes later, Tiri scored an unfortunate own goal to bring Mumbai City FC back into the encounter.
A good half of football finally comes to an end. There were several chances for both teams on the night. However, the two goals have come due to mistakes from the opponent.
AND IT IS HALF-TIME! SCORE: MUMBAI CITY FC 1 - 1 ATK MOHUN BAGAN!!!
45+3' INJURY! The ambulance comes into the field. MCFC defender Amey Ranawade goes down. He collided with ATKMB's Manvir Singh and fell head first on the field. He's gone unconscious. The physios are tending to him. This kind of looks serious. Fortunately, he's up on his feet with some help. Ranawade is moved into the ambulance now. Players from both sides look extremely concerned. The match continues.
45' Three minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half! Roy Krishna gets into a tussle with Mourtada Fall. He goes past the MCFC defender. However, the ATKMB striker decides to take a shot, instead of passing it into the middle. The cance goes to waste.
43' SHOT! Manvir Singh sets up Lenny Rodrigues close to the box. But the latter's shot goes way over the goal post. There have been so many attempted shots tonight, but very few on target. Both teams have to do better when its comes to finishing chances in the final.
40' CLOSE! Hugo Boumous shows off some wonderful skill in midfield. He tries to release Amey Ranawade forward after evading a few challenges. However, the MCFC full-back isn't able to get to the ball. He should have done better.
37' CHANCE! Adam Le Fondre with a wonderful run on the right wing for Mumbai. However, his cross attempt towards the middle is punched away by Arindam. Bipin Singh was just inches away from the ball there.
34' FREE-KICK FOR MCFC! Roy Krishna brings down Hernan Santana from behind to concede the foul. Ahmed Jahouh takes this set-piece as well but the ATKMB defence is alert as the danger is averted.
31' AND IT IS TIME FOR THE FIRST HALF COOLING BREAK!
29' OWN GOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! TIRI MAKES A HUGE MISTAKE!!! MUMBAI CITY FC 1 - 1 ATK MOHUN BAGAN!!!!! Ahmed Jahouh plays a long ball from midfield towards his MCFC teammate Bipin Singh. In an attempt to clear the ball away, Tiri slots the ball into his own net. Arindam had no chance to save it.
27' SHOT! Adam Le Fondre receives the ball in midfield for MCFC. He makes a brilliant run, dribbles past a few opposition players and takes a weak shot on target. ATKMB shot-stopper Arindam Bhattacharja makes a straightforward save.
24' Mumbai City FC has dominated the possession, passing and attacking stats so far. But one mistake was all that it needed to concede the lead to ATK Mohun Bagan tonight.
21' YELLOW CARD! MCFC's foreign recruit Hernan Santana goes into the referee's book for a silly tackle on ATKMB's Carl McHugh. It's a free-kick for the side leading.
18' GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!! DAVID WILLIAMS SCORES!!! ATK MOHUN BAGAN 1 - 0 MUMBAI CITY FC!!!!!! MCFC has just gifted ATKMB a goal here. Mourtada Fall, Amey Ranawade and Ahmed Jahouh are all to be blamed. They were playing short passes too close to the box. Eventually, Roy Krishna dispossessed Jahouh and Williams got to the loose ball before smashing it past Amrinder Singh, who should have done better as well.
16' SAVE! Mumbai goalkeeper Amrinder Singh saves a Roy Krishna shot from a narrow angle. The rebound falls to Javi Hernandez, who fires the ball way over the crossbar.
14' FREE-KICK FOR MCFC! Ahmed Jahouh takes the set-piece. He sends in a good cross into the box. But ATKMB centre-back Sandesh Jhingan heads the ball away to avert the danger.
11' CALLS FOR PENALTY!!! ATKMB defender Pritam Kotal brings down MCFC winger Bipin Singh in the box. The Mumbai City FC players are furious as the referee doesn't award a spot-kick. There was minor contact but the man in charge feels that it's not enough.
8' CLOSE! Raynier Fernandes received the ball off a throw-in and rushed into the box. He completed a one-two pass with his Mumbai City teammate Adam le Fondre and took a shot. But the ball missed the target.
5' ATKMB CHANCE! Roy Krishna takes the ball forward on the right flank. He evades the tackles on two players and gets close to the box. However, he is unable to control the ball as it goes out for a Mumbai goal-kick.
2' SHOT! Sandesh Jhingan initiated a counter-attack for ATK Mohun Bagan with a neat pass to David Williams, who took a shot from long after seeing MCFC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh coming off his line. But he isn't able to find the target.
7:30 PM: THE MATCH IS UNDERWAY!
7:25pm: The players are out in the centre - Roy Krishna leads the Mariners, who don their red and maroon jerseys. Mumbai City FC is led by goalkeeper Amrinder Singh. The Islanders are wearing their sky blue home kits.
7:20pm: The Golden Glove award is also up for grabs today! ATK Mohun Bagan's Arindam Bhattacharja holds a slight edge over his Mumbai City counterpart, Amrinder Singh, as he has played fewer minutes this season.
7:15pm: ATK Mohun Bagan's Roy Krishna is only one goal away from winning the Golden Boot. The Fijian narrowly missed out on the award last season after finishing as the joint top-scorer. He is Sportstar's pick for the best foreign player of the season -
7:10pm: Having played only five games in two seasons, this campaign has been the most important one in Vignesh Dakshinamurthy's career. The youngster is making his 22nd appearance of the season at Mumbai City FC and is now 90 minutes away from a second title -
7pm: A lot has changed in the span of 12 months for Mumbai City FC central midfielder Rowllin Borges. From having narrowly missed out on a playoff berth last February, the Goa-born footballer, just four nights ago, led his side into its first ISL final. Aashin Prasad caught up with the man himself -
6:50pm: Lobera can bank on Bartholomew Ogbeche to come off the bench and weave his magic. The Nigerian striker has scored eight goals and crafted two assists this season.
6:45pm: Here are some key stats ahead of today's game -
6:35pm: No changes in either side! Both coaches name the same starting XI that played in the second leg of their respective semifinals clashes.
6:30 PM: The team news is in!
Mumbai City FC XI (4-2-3-1)
Amrinder Singh; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Hernan Santana, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy; Rowllin Borges, Ahmed Jahouh; Raynier Fernandes, Hugo Boumous, Bipin Singh; Adam le Fondre
ATK Mohun Bagan XI (3-5-2)
Arindam Bhattacharja; Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri; Manvir Singh, Carl McHugh, Javier Hernandez, Lenny Rodrigues, Subhasish Bose; Roy Krishna, David Williams
6:15pm: PODCAST - The Indian Super League will have a new champion today! From how the two finalists stack up, to if they were the best to get through in the first place, here's our analysis -
6pm: Here's how we think the two sides could line up for the ISL 2021 final -
Mumbai City FC predicted XI (4-2-3-1)
Amrinder Singh; Amey Ranawade, Mourtada Fall, Hernan Santana, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy; Rowllin Borges, Ahmed Jahouh; Raynier Fernandes, Hugo Boumous, Bipin Singh; Bartholomew Ogbeche
ATK Mohun Bagan predicted XI (3-5-2)
Arindam Bhattacharja; Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri; Manvir Singh, Carl McHugh, Javier Hernandez, Lenny Rodrigues, Subhasish Bose; Roy Krishna, David Williams
5:50pm: The two best sides of the Indian Super League - Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan - are set for one final clash for the title. Ahead of the final, we look at key plays which could help decide the outcome -
5:30pm: It's all or nothing today. Sergio Lobera has a chance to do the ultimate double by winning the ISL title today after securing the League Winner Shield last month, while Antonio Habas can win a third ISL title to remain the most successful manager in the league.
- Can ATK Mohun Bagan finally get Mumbai City's measure? -
Sergio Lobera will be looking for his maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title while Antonio Habas will be keen to maintain his blemish-less record in ISL finals when Mumbai City FC takes on ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa on Saturday.
Mumbai head coach Lobera previously led FC Goa to a runner-up finish in the 2018-19 edition, losing the final to Bengaluru FC, while ATKMB’s Habas has a clean 2-0 record in summit clashes, having managed two trophies with ATK – prior to the merger with Mohun Bagan – including 2019-20.
READ |
These are the two best sides in the competition, with identical records leading up to the playoffs – 12 wins, four defeats, four draws and 40 points each. But it remains to be seen if ATKMB bears any of the scars from its twin defeats to Mumbai.
The second of these (a 2-0 reverse) came on the last day of the league stage, with Lobera’s men pipping Habas to the coveted AFC Champions League slot. But the Mumbai coach stated that the matches would have no bearing on Saturday’s proceedings.
“It’s all in past; we need to look to the future,” Lobera said. “We know that they [ATKMB] are a very good team with very good players and have good momentum. But the most important thing is to focus on ourselves. We need to work 100% in our style of play and our idea,” he said.
Recent form in the semifinal playoffs will give ATKMB confidence. Where it defeated Khalid Jamil’s impressive NorthEast United FC 3-2 on aggregate in regulation time, Mumbai huffed and puffed against Goa and, in the end, needed to win a nerve-wracking penalty shootout to progress.
Lobera will also miss the seasoned wing-back Mandar Rao Dessai, who is out with a suspension, while Habas has a near-full squad to choose from. The only area of concern for ATKMB will be the state of midfielder Edu Garcia’s recovery from injury and whether he is match-fit.
The tie is also being billed as a clash of ideas between the two Spanish managers – Lobera’s pass-and-move football against Habas’ counter-attacking style. While the former’s approach is much loved – despite a recent sprinkling of pragmatism – the latter has had to fend off some light criticism for not being expansive enough. On match-eve, Habas was asked again and he refused to be drawn into the debate.
“ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City both have 40 points on top. The styles are different but we also play good football,” said Habas. “Football is not only about possession of the ball. Possession football dominates the world, but it doesn’t dominate football.”
READ |
Of added interest will be Roy Krishna’s pursuit of the Golden Boot, which he narrowly missed out on last season. The ATKMB striker is tied with Goa’s Igor Angulo on 14 goals, and if he doesn’t score, Angulo will win by virtue of having a superior goals-scored to minutes-played ratio.
The race for the golden glove will also see an endgame, with Mumbai custodian Amrinder Singh and ATKMB’s Arindam Bhattacharja tied on 10 clean sheets. The latter is slightly ahead, having conceded fewer goals (16 to 20).
--
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.
Comments
SHARE