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Mumbai City FC began their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Kerala Blasters at Kochi. Amine Chermiti got on the scoresheet in the 82nd minute, overcoming the pressure of 28,000 spectators who came to support the hosts.
The goalscorer opened up about his first challenge in the ISL and stated how important the victory is for the club.
"I think its good (the win) for the team; the three points. Its a motivation for me also to continue like this. Three points from the first game is very important for the team."
Jorge Costa's first XI had a surprising omission in the form of Modou Sougou. The Senegalese forward was on the bench and the starting XI boasted the likes of Paulo Machado, Diego Carlos, Mohamed Larbi and Amine Chermiti.
However, Chermitti denied any possibility of a competition for spots arising in Mumbai's starting lineup.
"Its not a competition, we are a team. Modou Sougou was injured last week. Today he performed his best on the pitch (after coming in as a substitute), he ran fast. Today I scored, maybe tomorrow Sougou will. The team is important for us than the player."
The Tunisia native also admitted that overcoming Kerala Blasters was not an easy task. Chermiti felt that Blasters enjoyed the advantage of playing a game prior to their encounter with Mumbai.
"Kerala was not an easy team. They won the first game and it was the second match for them. I think, today both the teams had some good opportunities to score, but in the end the result came when everyone gave their best for the team."
Mumbai City faced a major setback when Jorge Costa was forced to take off two of his players in the first half. Machado and Mato Grgic were injured in the same minute and the pair were withdrawn in favour of Sougou and Pratik Choudhary.
Mumbai City will play their next game against Chennaiyin FC on Sunday and the Islanders will be keeping close tabs on the fitness of their injured players, as they look for a spot in the playoffs this season.
