ISL 2017/18, Match 70: Mumbai City FC vs FC Pune City, 5 Talking Points

FC Pune City completed the seasonal double over neighbours Mumbai City FC with a 2-0 win away from home at the Mumbai Football Arena. They had won the first encounter as well in Pune and they scored one goal in each half today to pick up the win, further strengthening their playoff hopes while pushing their rivals to the brink.

Marcelinho was on the score-sheet once again, scoring the all-important second goal to put the result beyond doubt for the Stallions.

Here's what stood out from the latest instalment of the Maharashtra derby:

#1 Marcelinho could have put this contest to bed in the first half

Pune City coach Ranko Popovic chose to leave out Emiliano Alfaro out of the starting XI for today's game which meant Marcelinho playing through the middle as the main striker. It was a role that had got him plenty of goals at Delhi Dynamos last season and it was going to be intriguing viewing.

Sure enough, the chances began to come Marcelinho's way as the first half wore on, but sadly for Pune, he couldn't convert any of them.

He had three good chances, one of them an extremely good one, to score for his side. Twice he was released with a lovely through ball to the right side of Mumbai's box, but Marcelinho delayed his shot as he was keen to get it onto his stronger left foot which saw the chances fall by the wayside.

He had an excellent chance that he really should have taken in the 16th minute when Adil Khan found him again with a beautiful ball over the top of the defence. With just the keeper to beat and on his favourite left foot this time, Marcelinho only managed to chip it cleanly over the bar.

He did though score the goal that settled the contest in his side's favour. After absorbing a lot of pressure from Mumbai City, Marcelinho put away the chance that came his way in the 83rd minute with an expertly taken finish.

#2 Pressure eventually pays off for Pune City

Pune's players celebrate Raju Gaikwad's own goal

Thankfully for Marcelinho, Pune City did get the breakthrough just three minutes after his bad miss.

A cross from the right from Sarthak Golui, aimed at Diego Carlos in the box, was missed by the Mumbai City defence. Diego himself couldn't get the correct contact on it and it ended up going past him and hitting Mumbai City defender Raju Gaikwad who was behind Diego.

It struck Gaikwad's thigh and trickled goalwards, beating Amrinder Singh in goal and with that Pune City had their opener. It was a touch of good fortune, but the goal had been coming as the visitors had been consistently putting pressure on the home defence.

It should go down as an own goal although the ISL website has it credited to Diego at the time of writing. The ball changed direction after it struck Gaikwad and should be assigned as an own goal.

#3 Mumbai pushed desperately for an equaliser

For a period of about 15 minutes between the 65th and 80th minute, Mumbai City really threw everything at Pune City as they went in search of the equalizer.

But the goal remained elusive. Vishal Kaith in the Pune goal was superb, making plenty of crucial saves to deny the hosts.

Mumbai City were anaemic in the first half, but one Sanju Pradhan effort from long range required Kaith's intervention. In the second half, he made two big saves to deny Balwant Singh.

In the 70th minute, a Balwant shot deflected off Pune defender Gurtej Singh, making it a tricky save. But Kaith was alert and got down to his left to make the save at the near post. Two minutes later there he was again; this time the chance was a better one as Echille Amana squared a lovely ball to Balwant inside the box, but the India striker couldn't get enough power behind it. It still required a good save from Kaith.

#4 Marko Stankovic having quite an impact

As mentioned earlier, Ranko Popovic left Emiliano Alfaro out of the starting lineup but kept Marko Stankovic in.

The former Austria international was signed in the January window by the Stallions and he has certainly made quite the impact in every game he's featured in.

His connection with Marcelinho is just brilliant. He seems to just find the perfect weight on the passes forward to the strikers. It was his ball that completely opened up the NorthEast United defence in the last game for Marcelinho's winner. Today too, he was on top form, providing some sublime forward passes for the likes of Diego Carlos and Marcelinho.

Even if they are not having their best game, with Stankovic in their ranks Pune City have the ability to create chances in an instant and that will make them a very dangerous prospect indeed.

#5 End of the road for Mumbai?

Despite having never made the playoffs in the ISL, Pune City have had the upper hand when it comes to the Maharashtra derby.

Prior to this season, they had won three of the six games against Mumbai City with one draw. Earlier in the season, a late goal saw them win yet again and today they completed the double for this season over their inter-state rivals.

Pune were good value for the win today. They started brightly as they looked to grab an early goal and they withstood a spirited second-half fightback before finishing it off in the end. They have been coming through with some gritty wins in recent games and they've now gone to 28 points and sit in a good position with three games to go. Barring something catastrophic they look set for the semis.

For Mumbai City though, it was yet another home loss. Last year, they were so strong at home and it provided them a platform in their run to the semis. This year, their squad has been lacking and they've come up short against the superior sides. They've just not had enough in their ranks. Though mathematically possible, Mumbai City's campaign looks set to end in the league phase.

Edited by Sagnik Kundu