ISL 2020-21, Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters FC: Who won yesterday's match?

Mumbai City FC regained the top spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) points table with a 2-0 win over Kerala Blasters FC at the GMC Bambolim Stadium in Goa, India.

While Mumbai City FC have played beautiful football all season, they looked determined to produce their best against Kerala Blasters FC. The Islanders started quickly with Adam le Fondre scoring from a penalty in just the third minute of the game. The penalty came after Vicente Gomez played a poor back-pass following which Costa Nhamoinesu made a rash tackle on Hugo Boumous.

It was just the beginning of things to come as Ahmed Jahouh’s long ball from a free-kick cancelled out the entire Kerala Blasters FC side, a few minutes later. It was a normal straight kick but the likes of Sandeep Singh and Costa got their positioning completely wrong. This allowed Hugo Boumous to cut in and find the far post to double the lead for Mumbai City FC.

Kerala Blasters FC also got their fair share of chances as the opposition defenders committed some silly mistakes. Sahal Abdul Samad and Jordan Murray, in particular, pressed high to force some errors.

Sahal had a good chance when he managed to steal the ball from Mourtada Fall before exchanging a pass with Jordan Murray. After getting the ball back, Sahal created some space before releasing a shot but Amrinder Singh saved it.

Kerala Blasters FC had another big miss when Lalthathanga Khawlhring couldn't fire from point-blank range. The chance came his way after Mourtada Fall headed a long throw from Jessel Carneiro into a dangerous area which Khawlhring could have exploited. At the other end, Mumbai City FC's Bipin Singh, Le Fondre and Raynier Fernandes missed their shots from close range.

In the second half, Kerala Blasters FC were more organized. They almost cut the lead into half in the 56th minute when Murray flicked the ball into the back of the net. However, the goal was denied as Murray was found to be off-side when Costa headed it towards him. As the half went on, Mumbai City FC came back into the game but Hugo Boumous was booked for simulation in the 68th minute. He went down after a clash with Sandeep Singh.

A couple of minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty to Mumbai City FC even though Sandeep got the ball in his duel with Boumous. Despite the poor decision, there was some sort of poetic justice as Albino Gomes saved yet another penalty in this season.

Just after Mumbai City FC made substitutions in the 75th minute, Amrinder Singh denied Kerala Blasters FC when Vicente Gomez came up with an amazing long-shot. A couple of minutes later, Amrinder was successful yet again when he made a save off Sahal’s shot. Kibu Vicuna made some changes on his own to launch a late comeback but Mumbai City FC stood firm to seal the three points.

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

Amrinder Singh has been a big reason behind Mumbai City FC's good defensive record. Courtesy: ISL

Mumbai City FC's fan-favourite custodian, Amrinder Singh was named the Hero of the Match for his superb performance. It ensured a fifth clean sheet in eight matches for the Islanders. Amrinder has long been regarded as the second-best goalkeeper in India behind Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

On this night, Kerala Blasters FC created a lot of chances which came through mistakes from the Mumbai City FC defenders. But Amrinder Singh pulled them out of trouble each time. Amrinder made two crucial saves from Sahal Abdul Samad’s shots in either half. The Punjab native also came up with one of the best saves of this season to keep out Vicente Gomez’s sweetly-struck long shot.