ISL 2018/19, Mumbai City FC 1-5 FC Goa: 5 Talking Points - Sergio Lobera takes five away goals to Fatorda

Mumbai City's grip in this tie has come down to base after getting trounced 5-1 by FC Goa at Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday. The hosts started on a very high note and scored through Rafael Bastos in the 20th minute.

However, there was an instant reaction from Sergio Lobera's men who equalized through Jackichand Singh eleven minutes later. Jorge Costa's side looked very weak in their set piece defending when Mourtada Fall put the visitors in the lead for the first time in the game.

Jackichand Singh found his skipper Ferran Corominas through a brilliant cross. The Spaniard wasted no time by converting a chance which was there to be taking. The Senegalese International Mourtada Fall scored again to stretch the lead to three goals. Substitute Hugo Boumas produced an excellent through ball to find Brandon Fernandes who had enough time and space to find the near corner.

It was an absolutely dreadful result for the hosts, whereas FC Goa will feel that they have done enough to secure a place in the finals. The second leg will be played at Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday.

In this article, we shall look at the five talking points from this game.

#5 Mumbai ran out of energy after 30 minutes

Mumbai City FC started to press higher up the pitch from minute one. Sergio Lobera's side looked disorganised and lacked ideas to keep themselves away from the piling pressure. The midfielder comprising of Sehnaj Singh and Paulo Machado were impressive in the first quarter of the game by winning several duels in the middle of the park.

Arnold Issoko, who started as the right winger was totally tormenting Mandar Rao Desai in the left flank. The Congo International was finding an abundance of space at the back to exploit Goa's defence. He put in an excellent cross to find Rafael Bastos in the first half.

FC Goa kept on passing the ball incisively after the hosts took the lead and frustrated them by not giving the ball. However, they took the lead when Ferran Corominas' shot was parried away straight to Jackichand' Singh's feet to equalize the score.

After Sergio Lobera's men took the lead, Mumbai City lost the psychological battle and struggled to match their pace of the game.

#4 Mumbai City's set-piece defending is not assured

Mourtada Fall kept his cool and dragged FC Goa to their comfort zone in the first half. The Senegalese International was the main man in the defence and produced a scintillating display to move one inch closer to the finals.

Standing at 1.91 meters, the 31-year-old was causing havoc from set pieces to cause total disruption in the game. FC Goa's defender was handed out a simple chance to put the ball behind the back of the net. The Senegalese International took full charge of that situation to take the lead for the first time.

He was able to double his old scoring this game. The 31-year-was able to leapfrog the defence to score his second of the night. Apart from these two situations, there were many instances where they would struggle with their defensive frailties from a set piece situation.

Mumbai City have relatively fewer players who would be able to compete with them in these occasions. Sergio Lobera took full use of this part to take an enormous five away goals.

#3 The attacking display from Goa downplayed Mumbai City FC's defensive midfielders significance

During the first half an hour of the game, the defensive midfield duo of Paulo Machado and Sehnaj Singh were pressing higher up the pitch and helped the forwards and full-backs to get forward and do the damage.

But, they were not able to convert chances which came back to haunt them after utter dominance early on in the game. This was poor game management from Jorge Costa to drive out the energy of several players in the squad after a good early spell.

Edu Badia, Jackichand Singh, Brandon Fernandes and Ferran Corominas were walking through the Mumbai City defence for most parts of the game and hit them on counter-attack by creating chances for fun. There were plenty of opportunities for the visitors, but they failed to take some which enhanced the domination of their side.

#2 Amrinder Singh's mistake proved costly

Mumbai City FC were going through a great spell in the game until Amrinder Singh made a costly error which led to Goa's first goal. The Indian International failed to get a strong fist to Ferran Corominas' shot which led to a rebound tap-in from Jackichand Singh in the 31st minute.

For most parts of the game, he did look assured with his handling. He was always forcing himself to punch the ball from corners and free kicks rather than catching the ball with full composure. Besides, he made some rusty decisions which have come back to haunt them. His positional sense has always been brought into consideration.

Brandon Fernandes' goal should have stopped by the goalkeeper. Amrinder Singh did not narrow the angle for the FC Goa attacker who was able to score in the near post. It will be a night to forget for Amrinder Singh.

#1 Goa dealt very well with Mumbai in opening stages of the game

During the early moments of the game, Goa were told to chase madly to get the ball back. The defensive midfielders including Ahmed Jahouh and Lenny Rodrigues, who failed to match Mumbai City's midfield stepped on another gear to make way for the attackers and full backs. Mourtada Fall and Carlos Pena were the other two defenders to have prevented the hosts from scoring more.

Sergio Lobera did not tweak his formation during the game because he has full trust in his tactics. With both the sides going with 4-2-3-1, the attacking midfielders and forwards of FC Goa were too hard to handle because of their extraordinary chemistry in between them.

There is no doubt that Sergio Lobera has one of the best midfield and attacking department in the league. He would expect more of the same in the second leg.