(LEFT) Lallianzuala Chhangte celebrating after scoring for Mumbai City FC; (RIGHT) Kwame Peprah celebrating after scoring Kerala Blasters’ equaliser at Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. (PHOTOS: ISL Media)
ISL: Mumbai City FC claimed a 4-2 victory over Kerala Blasters FC at home on Sunday in a game that saw three penalty kicks being awarded at the Mumbai Football Arena. Mumbai benefitted from two of those, while Kerala Blasters scored one goal of the penalty kick they were awarded.
The match also saw Kwame Peprah get his second yellow card right after scoring Kerala Blasters’ second goal for excessive celebrations. Right after scoring an acrobatic header for Kerala Blasters, Kwame Peprah took off his jersey after scoring to reveal a white T-shirt inside with the message “Annionting God”. A video of Kwame Peprah celebrating the goal showed that he had removed his jersey over his head, but he seemed to realise that he was already on a yellow card, which is why he immediately pushed it down again. But it was too late.
The Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters FC game also saw 20-year-old Nathan Rodrigues leave his mark. The game was deadlocked 2-2 with just 15 minutes left on the clock when Mumbai scored two decisive goals, the first via Nathan Rodrigues and the second coming through Lallianzuala Chhangte from the penalty spot. This was Chhangte’s 150th appearance in the ISL.
Forward Nikolaos Karelis had scored two goals for Mumbai City FC, besides being very prudent with the ball all game (he managed to complete 10 out of his 11 attempted passes) and chipping in at the defensive end with one tackle too. He scored once in each half, the first goal being a tap-in in the ninth minute from a Chhangte pass while the second goal came from the penalty spot.
Mumbai’s fourth goal also came off a penalty. Mumbai played with a one-man advantage for the last 20 minutes, thanks to Kwame Peprah picking up a second yellow card.
This was just Mumbai City FC’s second victory of the season. They are currently seventh in the standings after playing six games. Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters are 10th in the standings after seven matches. They have so far won two games.
The victory means that Mumbai City FC have been undefeated against the Kerala Blasters at the Mumbai Football Arena since January 14, 2018.
Mumbai City FC will play their next match against Chennaiyin FC on November 9, whereas Kerala Blasters FC will face Hyderabad FC on November 7.
