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Mumbai City FC registered an emphatic 6-1 win over Kerala Blasters in the final game before the mid-season break in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday.
The hosts established a 3-1 advantage in the first half courtesy of a hat-trick from Modou Sougou while Seiminlen Doungel pulled a goal back for the visitors. However, Zakeer Mundampara was sent off just before half-time for a second bookable offence and the Blasters played the entirety of the second half on a numerical disadvantage.
The Islanders took advantage of the situation and piled on further misery courtesy of two stunning second-half goals from Rafael Bastos and Matias Mirabaje before Sougou completed the rout in stoppage time to become the first player to score four goals in an ISL game.
The result now means that Mumbai finish the year in second place with 24 points, three behind leaders Bengaluru FC, while it seems like the season could well be over for the Blasters who are now languishing towards the bottom of the table at eighth with just nine points from their 12 games until now.
Without further delay, let's take a closer look at the major talking points from the one-sided affair under the lights at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday:
#1 Modou Sougou stamps his name in the history books
Modou Sougou proved to be too hot to handle for Kerala Blasters as he netted a first-half hat-trick in the space of 18 minutes to condemn the visitors to their fifth defeat of the ongoing ISL season. The Senegalese striker was at the top of his game in the first half and established himself as Mumbai City FC’s all-time leading goal-scorer with three well-taken goals that gave the hosts some leeway over their opponents.
Despite only joining the club this season, Sougou has now scored more goals for Mumbai City than any other player in the history of the tournament and he opened the scoring in the 11th minute after getting on the end of a cross from Paulo Machado to put the ball beyond the reach of Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem in the visitors’ goal.
However, the pick of his goals came just three minutes later, after the Blasters were punished for their lackadaisical approach while playing it out from the back. Raynier Fernandes picked up the loose ball and teed up Sougou, who dispatched an unstoppable shot from outside the area that clipped the underside of the bar before finding the back of the net.
Sougou completed his hat-trick in the 30th minute when he got on the end of a cross from Subhasish Bose to plant a header into the back of the visitors’ net to etch his name into the history books at Mumbai City. The 33-year-old even had time for a fourth goal that came in the 90th minute when he became the only player in the history of the ISL to score four goals in a game.
#2 Defensive frailties cut Kerala Blasters wide open
Many people thought Kerala Blasters would be resolute at the back this season with the addition of Anas Edathodika and the possibility of him lining up alongside Sandesh Jhingan at the heart of the defence for the 'Men in Yellow'.
However, things have not quite worked out for the pair of them so far this season. David James opted to field Jhingan at right-back yet again and the Kerala Blasters' captain was quite comprehensively overrun by his counterparts on the flanks.
Jhingan gave away the foul that eventually resulted in the opening goal after Mumbai City caught the visitors napping with a quickly-worked free-kick from within their own half. The defender also failed to keep up with Subhasish Bose when he put in the cross for Modou Sougou’s third goal on the night.
It was not just an off day for Jhingan though, the Kerala Blasters back-line looked terribly out of place under the lights at the Mumbai football arena.
Sougou’s second goal was a result of a poor pass from Dheeraj, who was trying to play out from the back after exchanging passes with Anas, who was then caught ball watching in the build-up to the third goal as well.
The final nail in the coffin came when Lakic-Pesic’s back-pass found Sougou, who tapped into an open goal to become the first player to score four goals in an ISL game.
#3 Zakeer shot Kerala in the foot with his erratic behaviour
Kerala Blasters’ sluggish start to the game meant that they were already handed a herculean task by the half-hour mark as the hosts cruised to a healthy two-goal cushion courtesy of Modou Sougou’s hat-trick.
Seiminlen Doungel pulled one back for the visitors and it seemed like they could maybe force their way back into the game. However, the third goal coupled with Zakeer Mundampara’s ill-discipline took the game away from the Blasters.
Zakeer picked up his first caution when he kicked out at Arnold Issoko, who was dashing forward with the ball, and just 10 minutes later, he picked up his second yellow card after a foul on Rafael Bastos. The midfielder lost his head for a moment and the numerical disadvantage meant that the visitors had no realistic expectation of making a comeback into the game.
To make matters worse, Zakeer behaved quite disgracefully towards the referee’s decision when he sort of threw the ball at the official, which could result in an extended ban after a further assessment from the disciplinary committee.
#4 Sky is the limit for Jorge Costa and the Islanders
Mumbai City entered the winter break on the best possible note as they finished the first half of the season with 24 points, three behind leaders Bengaluru FC, who have played a game less.
Jorge Costa’s men have hit a purple patch since the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of FC Goa back in October and have knitted together an eight-game unbeaten run since then. The Islanders ran out comfortable winners against the Kerala Blasters and were handsomely rewarded for some of the finest football they have played all season.
It was a complete team effort complemented by a few moments of individual brilliance here and there that helped the hosts enter the winter break in emphatic fashion. Mumbai City have gone from strength to strength in recent weeks and really look like genuine contenders for one of the playoff places this term.
They might be disappointed about the fact that they were unable to keep a clean sheet, but it hardly ever matters when you are capable of putting six past your opponents.
#5 What next for David James?
The pressure is mounting on David James with every passing game and the battering at the hands of Mumbai City is going to further damage his reputation among the Kerala Blasters faithful.
Despite being on the receiving end of a number of refereeing blunders early on in the season, James has struggled to implement his tactics on the pitch. Add that to the unrest happening off the pitch and it is quite clear that maybe he has already ventured out into a point of no return.
James did not do himself any favours against Mumbai though, he was completely outmatched by Jorge Costa and his team selection was yet again questionable. The decision to deploy Sandesh Jhingan at full-back has backfired in recent weeks and was completely exploited by Mumbai City as they ran riot in the first half.
Several other decisions like leaving CK Vineeth out of the matchday squad and opting against giving Matej Poplatnik a chance to make an impact is also expected to come in for criticism.
It only gets worse for the Englishman and it is hard to see how he can turn things around in the second half, leaving the club in a desperate situation at the moment.
