Kerala Blasters FC sharpened their semi-final chances with a 3-1 win over Mumbai City FC in a rescheduled Indian Super League clash at the Tilak Maidan Stadium here on Wednesday.
Alvaro Vazquez (45th, 60th) scored a brace either side of halftime after Sahal Abdul Samad (19th) opened the floodgates for Kerala who are now in fourth spot with 33 points from 19 games.
They take on FC Goa in their final fixture while Mumbai - in fifth spot with 31 points from 19 matches - play Hyderabad FC in their final league game. A win for Mumbai and a Blasters defeat to Goa is the only hope for the Islanders to make the second stage of the competition.
Mumbai pulled one back after Diego Mauricio went down inside the box from what looked like a Ruivah Hormipam push. Mauricio stepped up and slammed home from the spot to make it 3-1. Luna could have had a goal moments later as his free-kick was pushed as far as the post by Nawaz as Kerala held on to win 3-1 and sharpen their semi-final chances.
| Pos | Club | M | W | D | L | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamshedpur FC (Q) | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 37 |
| 2 | Hyderabad FC (Q) | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 35 |
| 3 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 34 |
| 4 | Kerala Blasters FC | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 33 |
| 5 | Mumbai City FC | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 31 |
| 6 | Bengaluru FC | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 26 |
| 7 | Odisha FC | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | -8 | 23 |
| 8 | Chennaiyin FC | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | -17 | 20 |
| 9 | FC Goa | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -6 | 18 |
| 10 | NorthEast United FC | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | -18 | 14 |
| 11 | SC East Bengal | 19 | 1 | 8 | 10 | -17 | 11 |
