Mumbai City FC
Roberto Volpato: 6/10
The goalkeeper was kept busy but held his fort well. The captain of the Mumbai City FC showed his experience under the bar, keeping most of the re-invigorated Kerala attack outside the net. Volpato couldn’t do much about the goal as the ball fell to Chopra’s feet at the edge of the 6-yard box.
Aibor Khongjee: 7/10
The former Shillong Lajong right-back had a busy night. Up against Kervens Belfort and Josu, the lanky defender lost a few balls and made a few poor challenges, but was decent throughout. He didn’t contribute much in attack, though.
Lucian Goain: 6/10
One of the rare Romanian players to ever play in India, Lucian Goain had a match to remember, except for the goal. A confident game throughout, the powerful defender kept the attacks at bay and cleared his lines well. Despite making a couple of crunching challenges, he could not prevent Kerala from scoring.
Anwar Ali: 7/10
The former Indian International had an average game at the backline. Playing at the right side of the centre-back pairing, the Mumbai FC defender gave a lot of space to Belfort and Rafi and could’ve done much better in clearing his lines.
Facundo Cardozo: 6/10
The Argentine left-back had a tumultuous match at the back. Playing a safe game for most of the match, the full back didn’t wander ahead on a lot of occasions. He was lucky to receive only a yellow card for his lunging challenge on Mohammed Rafique.
Krisztian Vadocz: 5/10
The link between defence and attack had an off-game, and that showed on the field. The Hungarian international did not have a memorable shift as he couldn’t muster anything worth mentioning. Credit must be given to Mehtab and Mahamat for keeping the big midfielder quiet.
David Lalrinmuana: 6/10
The young midfielder did not have much of a role in the first half. Playing on the right side of a three-man midfield, the Mizoram-based player looked comfortable on the ball but didn’t link-up play well.
Sehnaj Singh: 6.5/10
The former Indian centre-half looked a little jaded. Sitting just in front of the defence, Sehnaj shielded his team’s backline well but contributed very less in attack. The player lost possession a few times but was compact defensively.
Leo Costa: 7/10
The Brazilian tried to create a lot of attacking opportunities but fell short on most occasions. Such was the agony of the Mumbai attacking set-up that star striker Defederico did not have a goal-scoring chance throughout the match! A little blame must be put on the big Brazilian, who would be cursing himself for poor link-up play.
Boithang Haokip: 6/10
The Shillong Lajong player had an enterprising first half but did not look to have much effect in the second half of the game. Having been replaced with an injury, the free-kick specialist looked to be a little devoid of support, playing as a lone striker. Needs more support from his teammates in the attacking third.
Matias Defederico: 7/10
The Argentine winger was probably the only live-wire in the Mumbai City FC attack. The player always tried to create something, whenever he had the ball. The scorer from the last match played most of the match centrally, giving Josu a lot of space on the left wing to move ahead. The striker would be looking for better link-up play in the attacking third.
Substitutes:
Jackichand Singh: 5/10
The Indian international didn’t do much to enhance his reputation to get to the starting XI. The former Pune City FC winger made a lot of runs but didn’t produce quality balls for his team’s strikers into the box. Singh did support Khongjee well in the defensive set-up, but much more was expected of the speedy winger.
Sena Ralte: 5/10
Coming on for Boithang Haokip, the diminutive wing-back played his role well and covered the left wing with confidence. Didn’t contribute much to the team’s attack, but presumably he was brought on for a defensive role only.
Sony Norde: 7/10
If any man from Mumbai City FC came close to scoring, it was this man. The Haitian International deserves a start in the next match. He created an open chance, only to be cleared off the goal-line by the genius Aaron Hughes. Norde would be calling on Alexander Guimaraes to name him in the starting XI soon.
