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The game was not a spectacular one, but the goal was. Interestingly the game was in the mid field all through the first half and the mid fielders cancelled each other out. Mumbai City stayed deep in their half not allowing the visitors space behind them which actually paid off as they tore into the opponents half time and again.
Delhi did well to evade all the pressure and the goalkeeper kept well all under control till such time that Subhash Singh ran wide on the right to make it 2 vs 1 and Anwar Ali was helpless with that measured pass on to the prolific Nicholas Anelka who was cool as a cucumber and slotted the ball home through the outstretched 6ft 10 inches goalkeeper to take Mumbai City off the mark in the 59th min.
It was not all over and Steven Dias made some sizzling runs on the right for Delhi and almost got the equaliser by curling the ball behind the defenders for Alessandro Del Piero who stormed in between two defender to head it wide.
Anelka showed his calm and cool composure throughout the 90 mins as he travelled the length and breadth of the ground and was waiting for that one half chance that he could take to put his team close to the leaders on the table.
Anelka’s athleticism, his style and eye for a goal is something that young footballers must learn from. Coach Peter Reid and Ian Rush also echoed that Anelka is still fit to play in the EPL. Jolted by the absence of Ljungberg, Anelka made all amends to keep the Mumbai flag flying high.
Henry Menezes is the CEO of the Western India Football Association and also a member of the All India Football Federation technical committee. He is currently Commentator, Match analyst and Pundit for the Indian Super League. The team thanks him for his expert analysis provided through this article.
Follow him on Twitter @menezeshenry
