ISL 23-24 ; Mohunbagan SG beats Mumbai FC 2-1 to win league - Shield - summary & video highlights

 

Mohun Bagan made history in ISL.  They won the league-shield for the first time in the ten-year history of the competition.  Mohun Bagan  beat Mumbai City FC 2-1 in a life-or-death match at the Yuva Bharati Stadium on Monday.  Liston Colasso and Jason Cummings scored for Mohun Bagan.  Lalianjuala Changte scored the only goal for Mumbai.  They won the ISL trophy last year but never won the league-shield.  That dream also came true for the team of Antonio Habas.  They finished the league-shield with 48 points in 22 matches.  They still have a chance to 'double' by getting the ISL trophy.  Not only that, winning the League-Shield also gave Mohun Bagan a chance to play directly in the group stage of the AFC Champions League II next season.

 Mohun Bagan defeated Mumbai by showing dominance from the beginning to the end of the match.  They had no choice but to win this match.  That attitude was seen throughout the Mohun Bagan game.  Despite going ahead by two goals, there was no over confidence between them.  On the other hand, Mumbai lost due to negative mindset.  From the beginning they were playing another game of wasting time.  There wasn't enough attack when the ball came to his feet.  It was understood that they won the league-shield with a draw and not a win.  But the Mumbai players felt how harmful the attitude of drawing in front of a desperate Mohun Bagan is.

Mohun Bagan's biggest advantage comes when Habas returns to the dugout.  Habas does not hesitate to say how big the driving force of the team is.  The Spanish coach was unable to stand on the sidelines for long periods of time due to illness, repeatedly sitting down.  Yet no flaw was noticed in his spontaneity.  Just as he argued with the referee, he put his hands on the players' heads and explained their responsibilities.

 Mohun Bagan started aggressively.  Habas started Dimitri Petratos and Armando Sadikou without World Cup winner Jason Cummings in the starting XI.  Mohun Bagan players were already excited when he returned to the dugout after three matches.  From the beginning, they stormed the attack.  Within two minutes of the game, Manbir Singh got the ball from Shubashis Basu's pass but could not score.

Mohun Bagan had a chance to go ahead in the 20th minute.  Aniruddha Thapa got the ball on the right and floated a cross to Liston who was standing alone on the left.  Liston headed the ball but it hit the post.  Abhishek Suryavanshi blasted the return ball.  However, seeing the green-maroon attacks one after the other, it seemed that the goal was a matter of  time. 

 Liston was repeatedly trying to get in from the left.  After 27 minutes Petratos got the ball just outside the box and passed to Liston.  There were multiple Mumbai defenders in front of him.  Liston first left Bipin in front, then immediately went to the right and hit the ground with a curved shot.  The ball hit the net with a perfect angle.  Mumbai goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa jumped and did not reach the ball.

 Mohun Bagan fans did not hesitate to witness the historic moment.  One thousand and fifty fans filled the field.  When Liston scored, his emotions did not stop.  Liston himself went up on the sideline to cheer with the fans.  The rest of the footballers followed him.  After digesting the goal, Mumbai's mind returned to the game.  For so long there was a tendency to waste time between them.  Mumbai players were wasting a lot of time unnecessarily while taking fouls or corners.  But after the goal, their attacks increased.  Mohun Bagan could have conceded a goal a minute before the break.  Changte received the ball and passed to Jorge Perera on the right wing to Dias.  Perera counter-passed to Changte.  Blank goal in front but Changte could not use that opportunity as he slipped earlier.

But Mumbai is not a team to give up.  Coach Peter Kratki knew very well who were Mohun Bagan's two main weapons.  So Petratos and Johnny Kouko were getting surrounded whenever they got the ball.  Mumbai were playing much more calmly.  They took the ball and walked on the road of attack.  There is no rush to get the ball.  Mumbai was being attacked mainly from two fronts.  Bipin Singh on the left and Lalianjuala Changte on the right kept troubling the Mohun Bagan defence.  On the other hand, Mumbai's defense was solid.  Mohun Bagan attacked one after the other, but none of them were yielding.

In the second half, Mohun Bagan's attack slowed down a bit.  Couldn't sustain the pace they played in the first half.  As a result, Mumbai's attack increased a lot.  But despite having so many talented footballers in the team, Mumbai could not come close to Mohun Bagan.  The two teams were fighting in the midfield.  Habas dropped Deepak Tangri in place of Abhishek to strengthen the defence.  After Sadiku and Kawko, Cummings and Brendan Hamill dropped.

 Mumbai were still trying one after another.  But all their resistance was gone in the 80th minute.  Receiving the ball in their own half, Cummings passed to Petratos on the left.  Petratos caught the ball and passed it to Cummings, who was running in the opposite direction.  The Australian World Cup player did not catch the ball properly for the first time.  But he took advantage of not having any Mumbai footballers around.  Mohunbagan's second goal was scored by Cummins with a cool head and the ball was caught in the net

 But the game is not over yet.  Mumbai did not give up the fight despite digesting two goals.  Changte scored a goal in the 89th minute due to Mohun Bagan's lack of concentration.  Mumbai has the experience of taking away many points by scoring at the last moment in this ISL.  The gallery's 61,000 visitors were suddenly silent.  Nothing like that can be seen here either.  At the end of the match, the players of both teams were excited and got hot headed .  Hamill saw the red card.  The blood pressure of the Mohan-supporters increased as they became ten people.  Cummings and Lachenpaw were also shown yellow cards for trouble later on.  But Mumbai could not return to the match.  Mohun Bagan made history by winning the league-shield at home.

Watch the highlights below