Mumbai’s big defeat exposes gulf in ability with Al-shabab
MUMBAI: In his pre-tournament media address, Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham stressed on the word “smart football” while discussing his team’s playing style in the 2022 AFC Champions League (ACL). For about 30 minutes on their debut in the elite Asian club tournament against Al-shabab FC in Riyadh on Friday, the 2020-21 Indian Super League champions showed glimpses of what Buckingham sought from his players before a penalty opened the floodgates and led to a 3-0 defeat.
Mumbai City goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa pulled out many saves throughout the contest to resist Al-shabab’s wave of attacks. But his challenge 36 minutes into it that brought down Carlos at the edge of the box led to a penalty. Buckingham questioned the decision but Ever Banega calmly converted. The experienced Argentine was equally clinical in scoring the second goal in the 68th minute. Substitute Turki Al Ammar made it 3-0 nine minutes later.
There was no debating the quality of the goals by Banega and Al Ammar. On both occasions the Mumbai City’s midfield and defence were outclassed. They ceded space to Al-shabab to flaunt some fine passes before scoring. The gulf between the two sides was glaring even before kickoff. Though they had not played in the ACL group stage since 2015, Al-shabab had reached the semi-finals in 2010 having played the tournament nine times previously. That’s more than even the number of seasons Mumbai City have competed in ISL. The difference in standards translated on to the field. Al-shabab had 28 shots on goal, 12 of them on target. Mumbai City had none of the three shots they took in the match on target. It also didn’t help that Mumbai City couldn’t field striker Igor Angulo and Bradden Inman, the Australian attacking midfielder who was to fill their Asian foreign spot.