Atletico de Kolkata succumbed to their first defeat in the Indian Super League this season, courtesy of a late Diego Forlan goal. The Mumbai City FC striker deftly finished a low cross from Sony Norde, as the hapless Kolkata goalkeeper could only watch helplessly as the ball flew past him into the back of the net.
France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was seated in the stands to watch the game, but even his presence couldn’t bring out the attacking flair in the teams, who both laid far more emphasis on defence than on attack.
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However, we did thankfully find a goal in the end, much to the relief of all those seeing the match. Obviously, it was a cheerful occasion for the travelling Mumbai supporters who saw their team win after 4 matches and climb to the top of the table, but not so for the home supporters who had to bear the ignominy of a loss at the Rabindra Sarobar stadium.
Here are the player ratings from the game:
Atletico de Kolkata
Debjit Majumdar: 7/10
The ATK goalkeeper has been one of the league’s best and he had yet another good outing under the woodwork. He tipped off a powerful Sony Norde shot in the 33rd minute and thwarted the Haitian’s attempts once again the 36th minute as he came rushing out from his goal.
The Indian also commanded respect in his six-yard box but could do nothing to save the decisive goal as it took a deflection and went past his flailing arms.
José Luis Espinosa Arroyo: 7/10
The defender had yet another good game in the heart of the ATK defence. His excellent positioning and ability to bring out the ball from the back helped his team to keep the likes of Norde and Forlan under control for long periods in the game.
Arnab Mondal: 6/10
Arnab partnered Arroyo as he helped to shut down a Mumbai forward line eager to run behind the defence. He was subbed off for Didika late on in the game.
Robert Lalthlamuana: 5.5/10
Robert started off as left back and had a decent first half in which he cleared a number of probing passes from the Mumbai midfield. However, he was largely invisible in the second half and could not provide much offensively as well.
Prabir Das: 7/10
The right back had another good game, as he managed to mark the mercurial Sony Norde relatively well throughout the game, barring the time he set up the goal. However, he has to improve his crossing ability on the overlap if he wishes to make a bigger impact on the team.
Stephen Paul Pearson: 6/10
The Scotsman had a very good game in central midfield, as he not only marshalled his defence well but also picked out some very good passes while on the counter. Pearson was subbed off for Juan Belasco in the second half.
Borja Fernández: 7/10
The Kolkata captain had a solid game in central midfield as well and often led his side by example as he put in good challenges and neutralised Forlan’s threat to a large extent. He will be really disappointed with the loss, especially after such a performance.
Abinash Ruidas: 5/10
The left winger had a poor game, as he rarely threatened the Mumbai defence barring the odd cross. He ended up receiving a yellow card in the 34th minute and was duly taken off the field for Bidyananda Singh later on.
Javier Lara Grande: 7.5/10
The Spaniard was one of ATK’s better performers today and had his bullet shot got in the goal in the 24th minute, the story could have been very different tonight. However, that didn’t happen and despite his best attempts, especially during freekicks, ATK couldn’t equalise.
Sameegh Doutie: 7/10
The South African winger offered great pace and verve going forward but was let down by his team mates on multiple occasions. He scuffed a few chances which should have been buried, especially in the first half.
Iain Hume: 6/10
The big Canadian tried his best up front, but he looked a bit rusty and his first touch was definitely off for most of the game. He was guilty of missing a couple of sitters as well and received a yellow card in the 22nd minute for a reckless challenge. ATK desperately need Hume to step up his game if they want to win the trophy back this year.
Substitutes:
Baidyananda Singh: 6.5/10
The 18-year-old Manipuri kid came on for Ruidas in the second half and looked lively whenever he had the ball. He also put in a couple of good crosses in the box, but unfortunately, it evaded all the ATK players.
Juan Belencoso: 5/10
The forward was thrown in place of Pearson in order to provide more targets upfront for ATK but failed to really make any sort of visible impact on the game.
Lalrindika Ralte: NA
Mumbai City FC
Albino Gomes: 8/10
The Mumbai goalkeeper was playing his first game in the league, but his performance certainly didn’t reflect that. He came out to collect the ball confidently on numerous occasions and even made a spectacular save from a Javi Lara freekick towards the end.
Anwar Ali: 6/10
Mumbai started off with a 3 man defence, and Anwar Ali marshalled the right side of it. He did a good job in marking Ruidas, and it was Baidyananda who tested him a bit only after he came on in the second half.
Lucian Goian: 8/10
Goian was the monster in the heart of the Mumbai defence today. He kept his troops together and was largely the reason why Iain Hume found it so tough to get behind the opposition. No wonder he was awarded the Hero of the Match trophy in the post-match ceremony.
Gerson Vieira: 7/10
Viera was on the left side of the Mumbai central defence. He was taken to task by the combination of Prabir Das and Sameegh Doutie at times, but he always managed to recover well and prevent them from causing any serious damage.
Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte: 7/10
Ralte did a superb job on the Mumbai left wing today. Not only did he provide width while attacking, he did his duty as a wingback by covering Doutie whenever the tricky winger got some space out wide.
Otacilio Brito Alves: 7/10
If there is a reason as to why the likes of Borja and Lara did not get to express themselves as much as they would like to today, it is because of this man. Alves ran every blade of grass today, and constantly shifted between attack and defence to help his team out.
Sehnaj Singh: 7/10
Another man who was instrumental in Mumbai’s midfield but would go unnoticed is Sehnaj Singh. The midfielder did all the dirty work in the centre of the midfield, and duly deserves credit for that. He also blocked a Sameegh Doutie header that was goalbound which eventually helped his team get all the 3 points today.
Aiborlang Khongjee: 7/10
Khongjee was the key to the fact as to why ATK’s left wing remained ineffective for such long durations of the game. He acted as a workhorse and managed to shut down Ruidas for good, although Baidyananda did test his mettle after coming on.
Sony Norde: 6.5/10
Just as Doutie was Kolkata’s outlet on the wings, Norde was Mumbai’s man to go to while attacking. He was a constant headache for the ATK defence and had a powerful shot saved off by Debjit as well. However, in the end, it was the Mohun Bagan man who set up the winning goal and deservedly so.
Krisztián Vadócz: 6.5/10
He was probably the least effective from Mumbai’s front three, but that was because he was mostly busy helping out his midfield. The attacking midfielder did get on the ball a few times, though, but most of them were just speculative efforts from out wide.
Diego Forlan: 8.5/10
Mumbai City FC’s marquee player bought his A-game out tonight, as he repeatedly dropped deep to help his team mates and pick out passes. In the end, his perseverance was duly awarded a goal which he slotted home calmly, albeit a deflection from the sliding ATK defenders.
Substitutes:
Ashutosh Mehta: 6/10
The right sided defender was bought in for an injured Anwar Ali. He did his job relatively well and helped contained the dynamic Javi Lara for the remainder of the game.
Facundo Cardozo: NA
Thiago Dos Santos Cunha: NA
