ISL: Mumbai City FC beat table-toppers FC Goa

Goals in either half from Sunil Chhetri and Frederic Piquionne were enough to see Mumbai City FC record their second successive win of Indian Super League football against table toppers FC Goa in Mumbai on Sunday.

Chhetri (penalty, 33rd minute) and Piquionne (48th minute) ensured an easy win for Mumbai at the D Y Patil Stadium to move up to sixth spot in the eight-team league table with seven points from five matches.

jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery('.rel-article').bxSlider({ maxSlides: 6, slideMargin: 3 }); });

FC Goa were considerably weakened due to injury to several players but they started well. They had their first chance in the sixth minute when Leo Moura’s corner kick saw Raju Gaikwad get a touch to it but Victorino Fernandes, who was unmarked, failed to direct his header inside the goal.

Mumbai rode the initial storm and started playing confidently. Two of their penalty appeals were turned down when Piquionne and Gabriel Fernandes appeared to have been fouled inside the danger zone. But the referee spotted an infringement in the 32nd minute when Piquionne tumbled under pressure from Gaikwad inside the danger zone.

Chhetri took the responsibility from the resultant penalty kick and made no mistake to give Mumbai the lead.

Chhetri could have added to his and Mumbai’s tally in the 39th minute when he trapped Ashutosh Mehta’s throw in and turned to take everyone by surprise but Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani dived full-length to save his team.

Kattimani was called into action again in the 40th minute when Chhetri’s through ball saw Piquionne all alone and with only the goalkeeper to beat but Kattimani did well to save the French striker’s attempt.

Mumbai doubled their lead immediately after resumption of play in the second session. In the 48th minute, Sony Norde smartly passed the ball from a free-kick to Juan Aguilera whose cross towards the goal was buried into the net by a diving Piquionne.

Goa had more than just a couple of chances after being 0-2 down to get something out of the game but their strikers were wayward. Victorino, in particular, missed two gilt-edge chances while Leo Moura’s beautiful curling effort from outside the box was saved by Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul.