Resilient Mumbai City FC succumb to 4th straight defeat in AFC Champions League against Al-Hilal

Licking the wounds from the 6-0 smashing in the away leg, Mumbai City FC produced a resilient performance against Al-Hilal SFC at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai on Monday, November 6.

The Islanders managed to keep the Asian heavyweights silent for over an hour in the Group D clash of the AFC Champions League. However, a second-half red card ultimately led to their downfall as they succumbed to a 0-2 defeat.

Building up to the match, Des Buckingham, considering the opposition's pedigree, opted for a defense-first approach with three center-backs - Tiri, Mehtab Singh, and Rostyn Griffiths - starting for Mumbai. Rahul Bheke and Akash Mishra were deployed as wing-backs in the system.

For the Saudi heavyweights, the absence of Brazilian star Neymar was the main news. However, they still had Aleksandar Mitrovic, Malcom, and Michael leading the attacking line. The Islanders' elaborate setup to neutralize the Al-Hilal attack and catch them on the break, showed signs of success right from the first whistle.

A chance popped up for the hosts in the first minute itself when Lallianzuala Chhangte and Greg Stewart linked up on the right wing. However, the latter's effort was negated with comfort by the goalkeeper.

As the minutes rolled by, Al-Hilal were completely dominant in the possession charts. What followed was an entire half of resilient defending from MCFC to deny the visitors from pulling ahead. In the 13th minute, the Saudi outfit had a gilt-edge opportunity to pull ahead from a corner but Malcom miscued his open header.

Ten minutes later, Jorge Jesus' men had another opportunity to pull ahead when Ruben Neves struck a venomous volley towards the bottom left corner. Phurba Lachenpa came to the home side's rescue with a snap save.

Despite operating completely in Mumbai's half, Al Hilal couldn't really find the necessary gaps to carve open the opposition, a credit to the hosts' backline and Phurba Lachenpa between their posts.

Tempers flared in the middle when Mitrovic and Mehtab Singh got involved in a tussle in the 35th minute. The referee brandished yellow cards for both offenders as the game neared the half-time break.

While Mumbai hadn't enjoyed much of the possession, the fact that they managed to keep their star-studded oppositions at bay for an entire half garnered plenty of plaudits from their supporters.

---

Mehtab Singh's red card breaks Mumbai City FC's resilient defensive showing against Al-Hilal

The approach hadn't altered much for Mumbai City FC after coming out in the second half. Al-Hilal continued to chip away at the opposition defense and created a splendid opportunity in the 53rd minute when Salem Al-Dawsari found himself inside the box with an open goal to aim at.

However, to the surprise of many, the skipper's effort rolled wide and Mumbai were still in with a shout.

The Islanders' resilient showing was undone in the 54th minute when Mehtab received his second yellow of the night for a clumsy tackle on Ruben Neves. Down to 10-man against the two-time champions, the task at hand was a little too overwhelming for the hosts.

A cross from the left flank from Al-Buryak in the 63rd minute carved open the MCFC defense and Michael sneaked into the far post and headed home the ball to grab the lead.

With a man advantage and the lead now secured, Al-Hilal continued to pile on the pressure but Phurba Lachenpa still continued to pull out some splendid saves throughout the night.

Mitrovic struck the post in the 71st minute to the surprise of many but he didn't fumble 13 minutes later from a set-piece situation as the Serbian climbed the highest to tuck home the cushion goal.

Trailing by two goals now, Mumbai were blown out of the equation despite a resilient showing for over an hour. As the referee blew the final whistle, Buckingham's men were sentenced to their fourth straight defeat in the ACL while Al-Hilal continued their winning run in the continental competition.