ISL 2018-19: 3 Reasons why Mumbai City FC lost to Jamshedpur FC
The 'City of Dreams' was all set to watch the home team take on Jamshedpur FC in the season opener of their ISL 2018-19 campaign. The fans at the Mumbai Football Arena were buzzing with excitement for the first home game of the season.
What looked like an easy game for the boys in blue, considering the fact that Jamshedpur stalwarts Tim Cahill and Subrata Pal were not in the squad due to suspension turned into a nightmare as they went down by a 2-goal margin. This 2-0 defeat was courtesy of a brilliant header by Mario Arques (28') and a late goal by Pablo Blanco (90+5') which sealed the win for the 'Men of Steel'.
Let us see the 3 reasons why Mumbai suffered defeat at the hands of Jamshedpur.
#3 The Mumbai defensive unit is completely dependent on Lucian Goian
Assigned to play as a centre-back in the starting 11, Lucian Goian was seen playing all over the field with his crucial clearances and fast-paced attacks. Lucian not only held fort as a centre-back but was often seen covering up the wings as a wing-back. The Mumbai wing backs were no match for Jerry, the fast-paced Jamshedpur youngster who kept delivering some mouth-watering crosses in the centre.
It was Lucian Goian's headed clearances that stopped the Jamshedpur strikers from converting those crosses into goals. The back four will have to step up their game and support Goian if they have to avoid conceding goals in the future.