ISL 2017/18: Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes admits Kerala Blasters loss was a bitter pill to swallow

It doesn't get any easier. Post their slender 0-1 loss to the Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City FC will host another extremely competent opponent on their home soil as Bengaluru FC will grace the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday with intentions of securing nothing but three points.

Mumbai went down to Kerala last time courtesy a dubious decision by the official to let Ian Hume's goal stay and as a result, coach Alexandre Guimaraes admitted that it is extremely difficult to bounce back from a loss which was decided by external factors.

"You like to play sports? Whatever sport, when you lose because of some things, of course, it's hard to sleep, it's hard to stop thinking about it, it's hard to open the newspapers. But it's something that we have to deal with," he stated.

Sunil Chhetri will return to Mumbai City FC for the first time since he played for them during the last ISL season. The match is billed as the clash of India's two finest strikers - Sunil and Balwant Singh.

Guimaraes though believes that it's not wise to compare the both of them. Both Balwant and Chhetri have scored five goals this season so far. Albeit, Singh has played one game less. Asked who he reckons has been in better form this season, the manager chose to look at the larger picture.

“From my experience in other countries, I can say that it is not easy for the coach to find a striker with those kinds of capabilities. Be it Balwant, Sunil Chhetri or Jeje Lalpekhua, I am very impressed because Indian football has something which coaches would love to have."

"In our case, Balwant has been great for us. He has a good understanding of what we are trying to do. When he plays for the national team, he is a good backup. This is very good for Indian football to have these types of players,” he explained.