ATK Mohun Bagan vs Mumbai City FC: Who won yesterday's match?

ATK Mohun Bagan’s defense was breached after four matches as Mumbai City FC registered a 1-0 victory in the 55th match of the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) at the Fatorda Stadium, Margoa in Goa. Mumbai City FC dominated the game from the beginning but they required a 69th-minute goal from Bartholomew Ogbeche to seal the result.

Mumbai City FC started on a fantastic note as they dominated the possession and created a lot of trouble through the flanks. ATK Mohun Bagan's Glan Martins fouled Hugo Boumous in just the third minute but CY Goddard’s resultant delivery didn’t create any problem.

A few minutes later, Hugo Boumous and Hernan Santana combined in the midfield before the latter released Mandar Rao Dessai on the left flank. Mandar delivered a cross to Boumous but the Frenchman’s shot was saved easily by Arindam Bhattacharya.

ATK Mohun Bagan’s inconsistent press allowed the Islanders to push their full-backs high up the field. It was on such an occasion that Amey Ranawade ran to the byline before sending in a low cross. Nigerian striker Bartholomew Ogbeche tried to attack but Arindam Bhattacharya pushed the ball from the goalline after Manvir Singh almost put it into his own goal.

In the 38th minute, the Mariners got a rare chance as the trio of David Williams, Roy Krishna and Manvir Singh combined to launch a counter-attack. Krishna got at the end of Subhasish Bose's cross but the referee blew the whistle as he felt that the Fijian had fouled Hernan Santana. This was the last proper chance in the first half as both teams headed back with a nil-nil scoreline.

For the second half, Antonio Lopez Habas shifted to his usual three-man backline and this helped ATK Mohun Bagan to become more organized as compared to the previous 45 minutes. The Mariners got an early free-kick and Edu Garcia found the target but Amrinder Singh was up to the task as he pushed the ball away.

A few minutes later, the woodwork denied ATK Mohun Bagan after Edu Garcia weaved his way past the Mumbai City FC players. In the 61st minute, CY Goddard delivered a decent cross to Ogbeche but Arindam Bhattacharya was there at the right place to block the shot.

Soon, Mumbai City FC took the crucial lead as Ogbeche curled the ball inside the far post. The move was orchestrated by Hugo Boumous as he made his way into the box before playing a one-two with Hernan Santana. Then the attacking midfielder made a cheeky back-heel pass to provide the assist.

With a goal in the bag, Mumbai City FC and Mourtada Fall, in particular, gave everything to restrict ATK Mohun Bagan. Fall’s determination was visible when he jumped in to block David Williams’ long shot minutes after he cleared Edu Garcia’s free-kick.

The trailing side did push men forward in search of the equalizer but the final ball was missing. Prabir Das fumbled a cross while Tiri missed a free header from Edu Garcia’s corner-kick in stoppage time. Eventually, the solitary goal proved enough for Mumbai City FC to go five points clear of the Mariners.

ISL 2020-21, ATKMB vs MCFC: Who was the Hero of the Match?

Ogbeche scored his fourth goal of the season to help Mumbai City FC register a crucial victory. Courtesy: ISL

Bartholomew Ogbeche was named the ‘Hero of the Match’ for his goal in the second half which helped Mumbai City FC win the game. In just his 4th start of the season, the French forward impressed from the first whistle by making good runs.

When the moment came in the second half, Ogbeche scored one of the best goals of the season as he curled the ball past Arindam Bhattacharya. Ogbeche might lose his place to Adam le Fondre in the next match but there was no shortage of effort from him.