Positive approach, settled line-up: How Mumbai City FC bounced back after a thrashing at FC Goa

Mumbai City FC recently ended Bengaluru FC’s unbeaten record in the fifth season of the Indian Super League. They are unbeaten in their last nine games and are looking good to challenge for the title on current form. But ask any of the team’s top stars about the season so far and invariably the discussion starts begins with the loss against FC Goa way back in October 2018.

The Islanders face Sergio Lobera’s Gaurs in their next league encounter on Friday and a win should guarantee them a play-off berth which takes us back to that encounter that took place over three months ago.

But just a few seconds into the conversation and one can understand how much the 5-0 thrashing still plays on the mind of the players... how it probably changed the course of season for Jorge Costa’s men.

It wasn’t that Mumbai City were struggling to find any kind of form at the start of the season. It’s true that they were still adapting to the ways of their new coach and the players were getting used to the new style and philosphy but they had bounced back from the opening game loss to earn four points from the next two outings. And just when they felt like they were building up some form, they suffered a humiliating loss at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.

“It wasn’t a good start for us to the season. But Goa was the worst. After we took 5 goals we started talking between us. I took 5-0 only 2 times in my life, one was against Bayern Munich (while playing for Dinamo Zagreb) in the Champions League,” says midfielder Paulo Machado, who has been the playmaker for the side and has also been wearing the captain’s armband for most of the matches.

Machado, who has played for European clubs FC Porto and Olympiakos among others, insisted that it was difficult to concede these many goals in today’s football since most teams close the ranks and do not allow the opponents to score too many.

Instead, Mumbai City players were guilty of making individual errors after conceding three goals, making the final scoreline look a lot worse than the way the team had played. The Islanders had a couple of scoring changes in the first half which they failed to capitalise on and were punished for their profligacy in the second half.

Lucian Goian, the team’s former skipper and the central defender around whom the back line revolves, doesn’t go the extent of calling the loss “a shame” as Machado but admits that it came as a “cold shower” that put the team back on track.

“The good thing in that game was we had many chances to score.... in the second half, they were lucky in the sense that every shot on goal was a goal. Also, after the third goal, we did some individual mistakes and our confidence was down.

“It was not easy (to bounce back). We were a completely new team with a new coach and new staff. So this is a credit to the coach that he has built a really strong team,” said the Romanian while listing out the results the team has achieved since that loss.

In the next nine games, Mumbai City FC have kept six clean sheets, won seven matches, including a 6-1 thrashing of Kerala Blasters and drawn two — the second of the draws came in an away match against Bengaluru FC in which the team played with 10-men for the last 40 minutes and were probably unlucky not to have won the match given the number of chances they created despite being a man down.

So what exactly changed after the Goa defeat for the team? Just like coach Jorge Costa both the players insist that there were no drastic changes made, nor was there any kind of showdown among the players. But they did speak about the need to regroup and play as a unit.

Changes were made in the defence. With first choice central defender Anwar Ali injured just a few days before the start of the season, Subhasish Bose was giving company to Goian in the central defence till then.

But Joyner Lourenco, who was roped in after young defender Davinder Singh suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, made his ISL debut against Delhi Dynamos in the next match. Though he was traditionally a right back, Costa paired him alongside Goian in central defence and Bose was shifted to his preferred left back position.

The 27-year-old from Goa formed a formidable partnership with the Romanian for eight games till he also suffered an injury and Ali then stepped in against Bengaluru at home to help keep another clean sheet.

In the midfield, the likes of Milan Singh, Raynier Fernandes and the other Indian players started adapting to the high pressing approach that Costa has introduced which meant that the team had to try and recover the ball immediately after losing it, rather than falling back to defend.

“I think after the Goa game, 90% of the games we had the same squad. This is very important because if you are changing every game because of some injury or some other reasons then it is very difficult.

“Joyner also adapted very well. From that game (against Delhi Dynamos) we started to play with same line-up, same defenders, same midfielders, same players in attack,” says Goian, pointing to how the continuity in personnel has helped the team.

With five games left to play in the league, Machado insists that the team would look to win all the games to keep up the momentum ahead of the play-offs.

“When we arrived here, our goal was to be in top four. But now we are near the top and when you beat Bengaluru, of course, our goal is now to be first.

“For us it’s important to be first because we will take that confidence in the play-offs... If you start to lose games, you lose confidence. So for us, it’s important to win the next five games so that we will be at the top level,” he added.

And that march to the play-off and a spot in the final would start against Goa on home turf and the obvious question would be how the team would approach this game given the humbling defeat they had received in the away fixture.

Goian believes that if the team continues to play the way they had been playing for the last few games they should seal the three points required to assure themselves of a play-off spot.

“Many times I say to them (teammates), we go, we play and after the game (when) we come back in the locker room, you should be able to look each other in the eye. If you put your head down, then (it means) I could have done more, and I didn’t do and I am ashamed of myself.

“Sometimes you do your best but you are unlucky... But if you do your 100% then 95% of the time we will win,” insists Goian.

The team definitely has all the reasons to hold their heads high after the way they have responded since their last defeat and would now be itching to set the record straight on the home turf. Sergio Lobera’s men could get a dose of their own medicine this time around.