With three home matches coming up, Mumbai City FC couldn’t have asked for a better way to end their round robin campaign in the Indian Super League. A concerning aspect has been their goal scoring form - in the last six games, the men in blue have managed to score just three goals. Coach, Alexandre Guimaraes believes that might change very soon.
“One must always have confidence in their players. We have top quality players. Of course, up front, everyone recognises the quality that we have. It’s a matter of patience. Sometimes the goal gets very narrow when you aren’t scoring. When you’re scoring, the goal looks bigger,” he said.
Doesn’t want to cage Forlan
Interestingly, the coach has decided to deploy Diego Forlan in a more creative role rather than his usual number 9 position and he revealed his reasons for doing so.
“He feels more liberated in that position and enjoys more. He gets more possibilities to be involved in the game. He’s like a free spirit who always like to fly. With these kinds of players, you have to allow them to play like that,” he explained.
Speaking ahead of their game against Kerala Blasters, the Costa Rican said Saturday’s encounter might be a cagey affair.
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“The main thing is that we’ve have had chances. I know sooner than later; they will convert those. I hope tomorrow can be the day. We’re going to play against one of the best defensive teams in the ISL, alongside us. Maybe we won’t have the same amount of chances that we’ve had in other games,” Guimaraes stated.
Undecided on the combination
In their last match, Guimaraes decided to field an all-out attacking line up - playing Sunil, Sony Norde, Forlan and Defederico in attack. He revealed he wasn’t completely comfortable in adopting this approach.
“Our games so far have been very interesting. We have used different combinations to get to the other goal. I am very sure that this is very good for Indian football. Last game (against Goa) we tried a very offensive combination. It makes for an interesting game but us coaches might have to first go to the doctor to check our heart. Because it’s like two boxers going bang bang!”.
“I don’t know if tomorrow’s game is going to be similar. We have shown that we’re possible of playing such a game too. It’s up to me to decide,” he added.
Alexandre also touched upon his side’s far-from-impressive home record. His team have managed just one win out of four in Mumbai so far.
“I don’t think we lost our home games because we didn’t play well. The only game we didn’t play well was against Kerala. We just didn’t get points because, the games we drew, we had to play 30 minutes with ten men, we had injuries during those games, plus we made some big errors. It’s not because we didn’t create chances,” he said.
Not focussing on Vineeth
CK Vineeth has been in fine form for Kerala Blasters so far and Guimaraes said he has no particular plans to keep the forward in check
“First of all, I’ll have to see if he plays from the beginning. Sometimes you know that a player is saving you because you introduce him from the bench and he scores. He has been a key player for them but I am sure if he plays for 90 minutes, we have to place our attention on every player,” the coach concluded.
