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NorthEast United play Mumbai City FC in Mumbai on Wednesday and come into the game in the best possible shape after being boosted by wins over Chennaiyin FC and Atletico de Kolkata in their last two games. Manager Cesar Farias is expecting a great battle between the two in-form teams in the ISL but believes previous matches will hold no bearing in the game.
“It promises to be a great game between two sides which are very confident at the moment,” Farias said ahead of the game.
“But previous wins won’t matter in the game and what happens in the ninety minutes will decide the outcome. Our ambition is to take all three points from this game.”
The Venezuelan hailed his team’s attitude in the last two games and feels his team are portraying great mental strength since the two victories. “Initially we were struggling a bit, but since the two wins NorthEast United have displayed a totally new mental attitude and that’s great to see,” he explained.
“We want to play with the same attitude against Mumbai and hope it will work for us again,” Farias added.
Farias’s men traveled over 2,600 kilometers to get to Mumbai, but the South American revealed that the club had already prepared the team for long travels during pre-season and dismissed it of being a concern in the game against Mumbai.
“We knew travelling was going to be a problem for us, so we took care of it in pre-season. We have worked with the players in the gym, so the travel shouldn’t be a problem for us,” Farias said.
We will focus on ourselves, not Mumbai City players: Farias
Mumbai City’s attacking duo of Sunil Chhetri and Sony Norde have given all the visiting teams a problem, but NorthEast United manager Cesar Farias asked his team not to be too obsessed with any particular players and focus on their own selves.
“We know they have many good players, but we can’t be obsessed by those few players. There are so many things which can happen on the pitch and we must focus on ourselves.
“Our players will also concern them, but it’s a team game so we can’t focus on individuals,” said the former Venezuelan National Team manager.
NorthEast United will be up against it against a red-hot Mumbai City FC team and without the backing of their fans, NorthEast may just struggle to get going in Mumbai. But NorthEast United’s rise in the table can’t be down to just the home support and the hosts must not take them lightly by any means.
