Mumbai City FC 0-3 Bengaluru FC - Player Ratings
Bengaluru FC hammered defending champions Mumbai City FC 3-0 to go seventh in the ISL points table on Monday. Now winless in five games, Mumbai City FC are down to second and could potentially be heading towards a downward spiral.
Although Mumbai City FC started the half on the front foot, Bengaluru FC took over the steering wheel in a matter of minutes. Danish Farooq instantly made his mark with a stunning finish from outside the box to pull the Blues ahead.
Cleiton Silva made one of his darting runs into the Mumbai City FC box but Mourtada Fall stepped in with a clutch slide tackle. However, the ball fell for Farooq, who was able to direct the ball towards the bottom right corner even while going down.
The Blues have rolled away with the W, and how! 🎲
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With their high-pressing system, Bengaluru FC dominated the midfield game and played Mumbai City FC out of the park. In the 23rd minute they doubled their lead through Prince Ibara. The Islanders failed to clear the ball and Roshan Singh latched on to it on the right flank. He turned his marker inside out and delivered a delightful cross for Ibara, who thumped it home from point-blank range.
Roshan, who was enjoying a dream night, kept whipping in dangerous balls and troubling the Islanders defense. Mumbai City FC had their fingers crossed so they could go into half-time two goals down and have an opportunity to script a comeback.
But Roshan had other plans. From a corner in the fifth minute of injury time, the 22-year-old full-back whipped in a peach of a delivery. Once again Prince Ibara rose the highest to head it home.
Coming out in the second half, Bengaluru FC were more than happy to sit back and defend their three-goal advantage. Mumbai City FC enjoyed a wealth of possession but failed to breach Bengaluru FC's defense.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings for the night:
Mumbai City FC
Phurba Lachenpa (6): When as goalkeeper you concede three goals in the first-half itself, there's not enough left to write home about. But neither of those three goals was directly down to an error from Phurba. The young keeper stepped in with crucial saves on multiple occasions.
Mohamad Rakip (5.5): The only highlight reel for Rakip from tonight's game was a crucial block he made to deny Cleiton Silva a clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity.
Mourtada Fall (6.5): Although Fall gave the ball away on a few occasions, he stepped in with crucial defensive interventions.
Rahul Bheke (5.5): Had a night to forget as he gave the ball away on a couple of occasions and in dangerous areas. Was also booked in the first-half.
Vignesh Dakshinamurthy (5.5): Vignesh had a night to forget or a night to remember given he witnessed Roshan's masterclass from the closest proximity. Was pinned down throughout the game and couldn't break free. Had to be subbed off after the break.
Lalengmawia (7): Was the pick of the Mumbai City FC players. Apuia held the ball in the middle of the park and hit the woodwork in the second-half from outside the box. The young midfielder was quite unlucky not to have scored.
Vinit Rai (5.5): Failed to get into the game at all. He is slotting into the role Ahmed Jahouh is synonymous with and was manhandled by the Bengaluru FC midfielders. Got booked early in the game and was taken off at half-time.
Bradden Inman (5.5): The Australian midfielder was almost invisible in the first half for Mumbai City FC. In the second-half he pulled a few strings but definitely not the performance he would've wanted to make on his full debut.
Cassio Gabriel (7): Even amidst the Bengaluru FC onslaught, Cassio Gabriel looked like the only Mumbai City FC with an intention to fight back. He played key passes in the final third but had no one to combine with.
Bipin Singh (5): Absolute horrific night for Bipin Singh. He was on the pitch for two-thirds of the game but had only 12 touches on the ball and completed three passes.
Ygor Catatau (6): Catatau was largely a shadow of his usual self in the first half and was replaced by Igor Angulo after the break.
Substitutes:
Raynier Fernandes (6): Replaced Vinit Rai and couldn't produce anything special. Most of his forward balls were intercepted or misplaced by the Bengaluru FC defense.
Igor Angulo (6.5): Came on at half-time and looked the likelist Mumbai City FC player to get on the scoresheet. Although it's fair to mention, Bengaluru FC had already taken their foot off the gas by then.
Amey Ranawade (6): After coming on at half-time, Ranawade looked good on the ball and had an opportunity to hurt BFC inside their box. But he delayed the shot and ended up losing the ball.
Gurkirat Singh (6): Couldn't create anything special for Mumbai City FC but kept the ball well.
Mandar Dessai (5.5): Was very poor on the ball and was far from creating any impact.
Bengaluru FC
Gurpreet Sandhu (7.5): The Indian shot-stopper came away with a valuable cleansheet. Gurpreet also made some crucial saves in the second half when Mumbai City FC were looking dangerous.
Roshan Naorem (8.5): The young full-back had an absolute field day out in the middle. Every ball Roshan whipped into the ball turned into goal. He grabbed two assists, both to Prince Ibara, and could've had a fair few more. The 22-year-old also had a solid defensive display.
#WeAreBFC #MCFCBFC
Naorem Roshan Singh has FIVE assists in the #HeroISL this season. Starboy. ✨ #WeAreBFC #MCFCBFC https://t.co/299mc6jyPv
Pratik Chowdhary (7): Was very solid at the back and complemented Alan Costa well. Pratik also had a good passing game.
Alan Costa (7): His experience was on display in how the Brazilian centre-back marshaled his troops and kept affairs tight in the Bengaluru FC defense.
Ashique Kuruniyan (7): Throughout the season Kuruniyan has looked like a liability in the full-back spot. But tonight he was allowed more freedom by Marco Pezzaiuoli and caught Mumbai City FC on the break on multiple occasions.
Suresh Wangjam (7): Covered Roshan well when the young full-back was darting down the pitch. Didn't have his best passing display but had a decent night nonetheless.
Bruno Silva (7.5): Pressing, passing, ball progression, Bruno Silva was omnipresent in the Bengaluru FC midfield tonight.
Danish Farooq (8): Was playing quite up the pitch and did very well to get into dangerous positions and open the scoring for Bengaluru FC.
Udanta Singh (6.5): Created space for Roshan to orchestrate in, down the right flank but had a sub-par game individually.
Cleiton Silva (6.5): Looked lively throughout the game but failed to convert multiple chances. Cleiton probably had his shooting boots back in the hotel.
Prince Ibara (9): Tonight Ibara was at his clinical best. Constantly kept the Mumbai City FC defense on their toes with his movements in the box. Got on the end of two Roshan Singh crosses and bagged two classic poacher goals.
Substitutes:
Sunil Chhetri (6): The skipper replaced Prince Ibara but couldn't replicate his impact. Played some progressive balls but was caught offside far too often.
Iman Basafa (6): Bengaluru FC were more than happy to sit back and defend their three-goal lead. The addition of Basafa provided that extra cover in midfield.
Ajith Kamaraj (6): Replaced an injured Roshan Singh in the 82nd minute but even in limited time made his presence felt. Was strong on the ball and going into duels.