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Delhi hosted Mumbai in what was a crucial tie for the Islanders, as they are still in contention for the two remaining playoff spots. A win for Mumbai would mean that the team from the maximum city keep matters in their own hands, a draw would still keep them alive mathematically but the chances would be heavily stacked against them.
A loss would have all but end their ISL campaign for this season. Delhi, on the other hand, had nothing but pride to play for as even a spot for the direct entry into the Super Cup not being up for grabs.
The game started in an attacking manner as Delhi mounted all the pressure in the initial stages and managed to take the lead in the 5th minute from a brilliantly crafted move which saw Nandhakumar put it into the net. The halftime ended with the scoreboard reading 1-0 in favor of the hosts.
Mumbai came back all guns blazing in the second half and equalized in the 49th minute by an Everton Santos tap in. The second half turned into a full-fledged entertainer after the Mumbai equalizer, as one player from each of the teams was sent off. Delhi then went on to score four more, to derail and destroy Mumbai’s hope of making the playoffs. The final score was 5-1 in favor of Delhi.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings.
Delhi Dynamos
Xabi Irureta (7/10): Xabi didn’t have enough to do in the first half, but made a small mistake of fisting the ball into Everton Santos’s path. He did make up for the mistake by making a world-class save from a Balwant Singh shot. He made up for the initial mistake by making a couple of world-class saves.
Pritam Kotal (6/10): Pritam had problems keeping the likes of Sahil and Balwant at bay. It was Balwant who troubled him the most. Pritam didn’t venture forward much and failed to provide the support required for his wingers.
Sajid Dhot (6/10): Sajid had a good attempt at goal from a header, but missed the mark by a couple of inches. He tried his best to keep the defense compact and tight. He made some crucial tackles and clearances.
Pratik Chowdhury (5/10): Made a crucial goal-line save off a Sahil Travora shot to keep Delhi in the lead. Was rash in lunging into the tackle and got booked for the same. Pratik was rightly sent off and probably was lucky to be on the pitch for such a long time.
Edu Moya (6/10): Lucky to not concede a penalty, as his off the ball push was missed by everyone. Edu did make some crucial blocks and interceptions in the first half.
Joren Lumu (7/10): Lumu was probably the best defender for Delhi as Mumbai seldom got past him, his tackling was spot on today. His forward runs were brilliant and his crosses created problems aplenty for the Mumbai defense.
Matias Mirabaje (9/10): Scored an absolute stunner, and was a big presence in the midfield. He absolutely burst through defenders a couple of times. His interceptions were also very good today, and he looked to control the game often. He also instigated a lot of the counter attacks for Delhi which resulted in the third and fourth goals. His 90th-minute pass to Changte for the 5th goal was an absolute gem of a pass.
Seityasen Singh (8/10): It was his brilliantly timed run that helped Delhi craft open the Mumbai defense in the initial stages to score an early goal. His brilliant cross to assist Nandhakumar was also played to perfection. He did track back help out his defenders also.
Manuel Arana (9/10): Manuel Arana was lively in the middle of the park. He showed his class with a couple fine dribbles and managed to show some skills also. He also provided some delicious crosses into the box and managed to create a few openings. Arana won a penalty and converted it without any problems. Arana provided a brilliant assist for Kalu for the 4th goal.
Nandhakumar Sekar (8/10): Nandhakumar scored a good goal in opening minutes of the game, even though the finish was a simple tap in it was his move to lose his marker and pop up at the near post to finish off a good move which he himself instigated. He looked lively in the later stages of the first half.
David Ngaihte (6/10): David Ngaihte was lively up front, as he changed positions frequently and trouble the Delhi backline with his guile. He did look selfish at times and could have done much better on a couple of occasions.
Mumbai City FC
Amrinder Singh (6/10): Amrinder had a night to forget as he had to collect the ball 5 times from the back of his net, but in truth, he couldn’t have done much during all the goals they conceded. He did make a couple of good saves, but it didn’t help his side much.
Raju Gaikwad (5/10): Raju had problems aplenty keeping the likes of Nandhakumar and Changte in check. He was defensively poor and wasn’t of much help going forward in attack.
Lucian Goian (5/10): Goian was way below his usual self, today, as he was seen out of position often. He was on a couple of occasions beaten with relative ease by the young pacy Delhi forwards.
Marcio Rozario (5/10): Rozario was beaten all ends up by Seityasen and Arana on a couple of occasions, and was really poor going forward. He did have a good passing rate and looked to keep the ball and build up attacks from the back. His set pieces were also poor today.
Gerson Vieira (6/10): Gerson looked to be one of the most committed players in Mumbai today. He had a big role to play in the 20 minutes of extreme pressure that Mumbai put on Delhi after equalizing. He won a lot of second balls and his anticipation was also good.
Sanju Pradhan (5/10): Sanju had problems getting past Joren Lumu and was often forced to cross balls into the box from awkward positions. He had a couple of pops at goal but missed the target by a margin. His passing was really poor today as he had a pass success rate of just 50%.
Sehnaj Singh (5/10): Had a brilliant attempt at goal but hit it right down the keeper's throat. Apart from that, Sehnaj had a tough time in the middle of the pitch, as the likes of Mirabaje and Arana gave him plenty of headaches. He was often seen chasing shadows and lunged into some unwanted tackles.
Sahil Tavora (4/10): Probably the main reason why Delhi beat Mumbai by such a margin is Sahil's sending off. Both his yellow card offenses were uncalled for and he surely deserved a Red card for those tackles. Before getting sent off, Sahil was having a good game, and his passes and movement were good.
Achille Emana (6/10): Emana was way below his usual self today, and apart from that 20-minute spell in the second half during which he created 3 chances, Emana didn’t have much impact in the game. His pass success rate was way below par.
Everton Santos (7/10): Santos equalized for Mumbai and got them on track, he was the most dangerous Mumbai player on the field, and looked to create a lot of openings. His runs were difficult for the Delhi defense to counter and they fouled him more than a couple of times. He didn’t get many touches of the ball though.
Balwant Singh (7/10): Balwant looked lively whenever he had the ball at his feet, and it was his shoot that helped Everton get the goal. He had another brilliant attempt at goal but it was saved by Xabi.
