Mumbai City FC 4-1 Odisha FC- 4 things we learned
Mumbai City FC ran riot against Odisha FC when the two sides met in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Pandit Jawaharlal Stadium in Fatorda. The former came out 4-1 winners in an exciting clash on Saturday.
Igor Angulo and Bipin Singh scored a brace each against defensively inefficient Odisha FC. The Juggernauts managed to score a consolation goal late in the game courtesy of Jonathas Cristian.
The initial moments of this tie witnessed both sides trying to break the deadlock with the use of the flanks but lacking the final ball. However, Mumbai City FC were the first to carve out an opportunity.
Rahul Bheke's cross found Igor Angulo at the end of it. The Spaniard gave himself some room in between the central defenders to head in his side's first goal of the night. The Spaniard struck again in the second half which came at the end of some individual brilliance inside the box.
Speaking of individual brilliance, Bipin Singh scored his first of the night at the start of the second half. He used his body to send the goalkeeper the wrong way and shot in the opposite direction. The winger got a second goal courtesy of a brilliant run by Cassio Gabriel.
With the win, Mumbai City FC moved into fourth position in the ISL table.
On that note, let's take a look at the four things we learned from this game.
#4 Odisha FC's effectiveness in transitions has decreased
Odisha FC are a side usually dependent on counter-attacks and dead-ball opportunities to find the back of the net. But against the Islanders, Kino Garcia's side were extremely slow in transitioning from defense to attack and vice-versa.
On most occasions, the Odisha FC wingers would run down the flanks during a counter. But they ended up getting outnumbered in the final third. This was due to the lack of an overlapping run by a wingback or slow movement of the players in the central zone.
This caused them to lose possession which could have been utilized better if the team moved in packs and supported each other on and off the ball.
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#3 Mumbai City FC benefiting from individual brilliance
The Islanders are a well drilled side when it comes to utilizing possession and winning it back when without the ball. However, these attributes did not bear the desired output in their recent past.
Hence, the players went onto add a bit of individual brilliance in the final third that made their job easy and bore fruit. Igor Angulo's second goal and both of Bipin Singh's goals were prime examples of that. The players used the concept of body orientation to their advantage in opening up the opposition defense and converting their chances.
#2 Odisha FC's over-dependency on certain names
The Juggernauts have not been able to put in a team effort this season and that is one of the reasons for their defeat against Mumbai City FC. Players like Javier Hernandez, Jonathas Cristian, Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Aridai Cabrera have had to bear a major amount of responsibility to create and convert chances.
However, other players at the club have not stepped up on the big occasion. They have often shown a lack of decisiveness thereby removing the edge Odisha FC require to progress further in the competition.
They sit in seventh position and will need the whole ISL team to perform well to move further.
#1 Mumbai City FC's off the ball movement has been good
One of the prime weapons of Des Buckingham's side has been the off-the-ball movement by the players. Opposition players tend to press their double-pivot of Ahmed Jahouh and Apuia.
But the Islanders have become adept at taking the ball out of those tricky situations. The players keep moving consistently. This opens up space for their teammates to play the ball or run into allowing them fluidity and easy progression of possession.
This was quite evident against Odisha FC as Mumbai dominated transitions well despite the pressure from the Juggernauts.