Analysing Mumbai City FC's season so far

Nicolas Anelka has to figure out how to ensure his team can do well away from home

Mumbai, a city known a lot more for its cricket than its football, has struggled to find a football club which can challenge for top honours in Indian football ever since Mahindra United shut down. After going almost ten years without a national title, Mumbai City FC gave the Mumbaikars renewed hope of getting the city back on the pinnacle of Indian football.

After failing to impress in the first season, the team seemed determined to put up a strong challenge for the ISL title and that intent was evident from the franchise’s capture of the likes of Sunil Chhetri, Sony Norde and Frederic Piquionne. The Ranbir Kapoor-owned outfit retained their top performers from last season like Subrata Pal and Pavel Cmovs and have forged a team which has a bit about them.

The team management have remained bullish about their team’s title winning credentials and so far, Mumbai City FC have managed to stay in the mix.

Early wobbles threatened to derail Mumbai City FC’s season

After clearly stating their intent, the club failed to replicate it on the pitch and made a stuttering start to the campaign after going down to FC Pune City in the opening match before managing only a draw against Kerala Blasters in their second away game.

But despite ending the first two games with just a point, Mumbai City FC’s performances were better than their results and they could have easily ended up with six points from these two away games.

They had dominated the first half against FC Pune City where they passed up chance after chance, while they were denied by the post in Kerala, where they looked the better of the two sides.

Mumbai City FC’s homecoming was tipped to change their fortunes, but even the returns of Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal to the team couldn’t stop a Mendoza inspired Chennaiyin FC from picking up all three points at the D.Y. Patil Stadium. That result left Mumbai reeling at the bottom of the table.

Mumbai struck a winning formula as Sunil Chhetri sizzled

Sunil Chhetri is the man who can push Mumbai into the semifinals

Assistant Coach Oscar Bruzon termed his side’s performance against Chennaiyin FC as the worst his team had played since pre-season and vowed to analyze the situation before their next game against Delhi Dynamos.

That’s when the team found the right combination to make the most of their attacking riches which worked wonders against Delhi Dynamos as the side from Mumbai recorded their first win of the season. The win was replicated against a strong FC Goa side few days later before, Mumbai City FC hit their peak against NorthEast United, handing them a 5-1 thrashing.

Their tactical tweak saw Sunil Chhetri being handed a more central role behind the striker, and this made all the difference for the Mumbaikars. The excellent Sony Norde created the space for Sunill Chhetri to work his magic as the attacking duo took their team to the second spot in the ISL table, just few days after sitting at the bottom of the table.

Chhetri’s goals had clearly made the difference for Mumbai City as he ensured their dominance in matches did not end up going waste. Becoming the first Indian to score a hat-trick, he not only gave Mumbai a real cutting edge in attack, but also gave the Indian Super League an Indian face.

The setback and the response

The team then welcomed a beleaguered Atletico de Kolkata side to the D.Y. Patil stadium. Atletico had lost their last three matches, while Mumbai City were coming on the back of three consecutive wins.

With the Mumbai City FC attackers firing on all cylinders, it was expected that the home team would have too much for the struggling Champions. However, the team from Kolkata produced a terrific away performance and thrashed Mumbai 4-1 in their own backyard, a result which dealt a huge blow to Mumbai City FC’s growing title credentials.

However, Nicolas Anelka’s men responded well against Delhi Dynamos and were seconds away from taking all three points in Delhi before Robin Singh’s equalizer pegged them back. Although the draw left them feeling bad, the performance of the side was commendable especially as they fought back from a hammering in their last game.

On a day when Sunil Chhetri and Sony Norde weren’t at their very best, Selim Benachour and Frederic Piquionne produced the goods upfront in a very tight game, just showing the variety of options the team have got in their ranks to get the goals from.

Where do Mumbai City FC stand now?

With six games to play, Mumbai City find themselves just outside the top four positions at the moment, but having played five out of their seven home games already, Nicolas Anelka’s men would have liked to be slightly higher in the table at this point of the season.

But, Anelka and co. have spoken of twenty points as the tally which may see them qualify for the semi-finals. Still nine points adrift of the target and with only two home games remaining, they will have to produce the goods away from home against tough opponents.

However, their performance against Delhi Dynamos gave a good indication of the fact that Mumbai are a dangerous team even on the road and that their goal threat always makes them a good bet to get a result, even in tight games.

Still not having won on the road in the ISL, the Mumbai team will have to show everyone that they are genuine contenders and given their attacking talent and new-found determination, it does look that the team are primed to prove everyone who doubted them wrong and qualify for the semi-finals.