Mumbai City FC played out an exciting 1-1 draw against Atletico de Kolkata. The hosts took the lead courtesy of a well-taken goal from Matias Defederico. But the visitors levelled the score with ten minutes’ left on the clock. Javier Lara unleashed a shot from outside the box which found the top corner after a heavy deflection.
Mumbai City FC coach, Alexandre Guimaraes spoke to the media after the match. The Costa Rican was pleased with how his side played despite the draw
“I think we played a good game today. We had our chances in the second half. The second half changed completely unfortunately after the red card. So we had to change our defensive game a little bit”, he stated.
Asked if he spoke to Pronoy Halder about the red card, Alexandre said that talking about it immediately after the match wouldn’t be a good idea. He also felt that the opponents only started dominating post Halder’s dismissal.
“They played well after we were reduced to ten players. They made us move much more. I think a draw is a fair result. I have played the game so I know now is not the moment to talk to Pronoy about the red card. Tomorrow we will talk but it happens. It also showed us how to defend with ten players”, he said.
Haokip had a fantastic game
Compared to their previous two matches, Mumbai played some free flowing football. Their slick passing resulted in a number of chances, especially in the first half. Asked if his side played better football without Diego Forlan, the coach responded in the negative but praised Haokip who played as a false nine on the night.
“No. I don’t think so. With Forlan, we won two games. I mean the team understood what kind of game we have to play without Diego. Haokip moved every well during the first forty-five minutes. He had a fantastic game”, he stated.
With Gaston Sangoy still injured, Mumbai had only one striker in their line-up- Forlan. Against Atletico de Kolkata, they played the entire game without a traditional striker and the coach said that his side is urgently looking to bring in another striker.
“Our CEO knows that we have to move fast. They are looking for options. I hope that as soon as possible another option arrives to the team. We only have Deigo Forlan now so we need another striker. We don’t know when Sunil Chhetri will come”, the coach concluded.
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