ISL 2022/23: Mumbai City 4-0 Bengaluru FC: Player ratings as the Islanders run riot
Bengaluru FC suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Area on Thursday, November 17. Pereyra Diaz's goal was followed by strikes from Apuia, Bipin Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Alan Costa's poor first touch helped Pereyra Diaz to pinch the ball and make a run behind the defense to beat the hapless Gurpreet. The goalscorer thought he had doubled the lead at the 30th minute mark, but the linesman raised the flag for offside.
However, the hosts doubled the lead in no time when they congested the penalty box with blue shirts. Chhangte pulled the ball back to Bipin, whose backheel found Apuia. The midfielder took a couple of touches before slotting the ball behind the back of the net. Simon Grayson would have expected his midfielders and defenders to be more aware of their surroundings.
Udanta whipped a delicious cross in the hope of finding somebody, but the ball evaded Roy Krishna and Javi Hernandez only to pick out Roshan. The left-back used his hand only to fail to hit the target.
Bipin entered the scoresheet in the 58th minute. Sandesh Jhingan was asleep when Pereyra Diaz made a run behind the defense to look for Bipin and Stewart sprinting at full throttle. The Indian winger, however, went ahead and tapped the ball into an open net to put the game beyond the reach of Bengaluru FC.
Lallianzuala Chhangte, who was unlucky not to add more assists to his tally, was finally rewarded with a goal when he latched on to a deflected pass from Pereyra Diaz to find the far post with a well-placed finish.
Udanta was so close to pulling one goal back in the second half with a firm shot. But Mourtada Fall's flying tackle diverted the ball for a corner.
Des Buckingham's Mumbai City have scored 10 goals in 2 games and are breathing down the neck of table-toppers Hyderabad FC, while Simon Grayson's Bengaluru have failed to score and pick up a point in their fourth consecutive game.
We shall look at player ratings from Mumbai City's huge victory over Bengaluru FC.
Mumbai City FC players ratings
Phurba Lachenpa - 7/10: Lachenpa was a mannequin for most of the game. He was hardly brought into action by the opponent.
Rahul Bheke - 8/10: Rahul Bheke had a solid outing defensively and offensively. His excellent pick-out with a long ball to Pereyra Diaz for the third goal played a huge role as the visitors were caught by a failed offside attempt.
Rostyn Griffiths - 8/10: Griffiths had to cover extra ground in the first half as Mehtab struggled to find his feet. He nullified the threat possessed by Roy Krishna and helped Mumbai play out from the back.
Mehtab Singh - 7.5/10: Although Mehtab was caught out of position on numerous occasions in the first half, he made up for his mistakes in the second half. The centre-back's ability to play intricate passes from the back broke Bengaluru's press.
Vignesh Dakshinamurthy - 7/10: Vignesh had a similar game to Mehtab. The Indian international struggled to deal with Udanta in the first half, but found his feet in the second half. His crisp passing helped the hosts to break on counter attacks.
Ahmed Jahouh - 9/10: The Moroccan international demonstrated his worth yet again. He sat back with a backline and allowed his teammates to push forward and score goals.
Apuia - 8/10: Apuia's freedom to get into the penalty box often helped Mumbai's course. He scored the third goal for the hosts and nearly added one before he was substituted.
Greg Stewart - 9/10: It is a shame Greg Stewart was not part of the score or assists chart even though he produced a spellbinding performance. The attacking midfielder was a no-match for Bruno Ramires, who struggled to contain him throughout the game.
Lallianzuala Chhangte - 8.5/10: The right winger was unlucky to miss out on an assist in the first half when Pereyra Diaz missed an easy header in the second half. Despite stretching the opponents' backline and creating space for others to score, he got into a goalscoring position to pile misery on Bengaluru.
Bipin Singh - 8/10: Bipin Singh's ability to be in the best goalscoring position helped him increase his goalscoring record. The Indian international was constantly giving headaches to the right side of the opponents' defense.
Pereyra Diaz - 8/10: Pereyra Diaz was consistently pressurizing Jhingan and Costa to commit mistakes. He also made numerous runs behind the defense to cause a huge issue. Diaz also capped off his display with a well-taken goal.
Substitutes:
Vinit Rai - 7/10: Vinit Rai came on and kept Mumbai City ticking with his passing ability.
Mourtada Fall - 7/10: His crucial intervention to deny Udanta Singh protected the Islanders' clean sheet.
Rowlin Borges - 6.5/10: Rowling Borges's legs helped Mumbai win possession during the closing stages of the game.
Alberto Noguera - 6/10: His substitution did not have any impact on the game.
Vikrampratap Singh - 6.5/10: Vikram was presented with a glorious chance to add one more to his tally, but his foot stuck got on the ground. Thus, he was unable to connect the ball perfectly.
Bengaluru FC players ratings
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu - 5/10: Gurpreet was helpless in between the sticks. He can't be blamed for the individual calamitous mistakes that led to goals.
Namgyal Bhutia - 4/10: Bipin Singh was constantly making runs and dragged him out of position to create space for Apuia and Stewart to get into the penalty box. He struggled defensively and offensively.
Sandesh Jhingan - 3/10: Sandesh Jhingan committed a couple of mistakes that were left unpunished in the first half. However, he was caught napping for Mumbai's third goal of the second half. The experienced campaigner was extremely shaky as Pererya Diaz gave him a tough time.
Alan Costa - 3/10: The centre-back was directly responsible for Mumbai's first game and had a game to forget. His positional awareness was his biggest letdown and failed to contain the Islanders forwards.
Roshan Singh - 5/10: Roshan showed grit, but his end product was missing. Chhangte was too hard to handle and gave the left-back a very tough time.
Bruno Ramires - 4/10: Greg Stewart was easing his way into the penalty box more often than not. Bruno Ramires was unable to stay with him and was easily beaten on numerous occasions.
Suresh Wangjam - 5/10: Suresh won a few tackles and made interceptions in the first half. He was the best midfielder for the visitors.
Javi Hernandez - 4.5/10: Javi fizzled out after a lively start to the game. The Spaniard tried to link the defense and forward line, but failed to do.
Udanta Singh - 5/10: Udanta had a chance to equalize the score in the first half. But his tame shot was easily caught by Lachenpa. He was unlucky to miss out on an assist.
Danish Farooq - 4/10: The decision to play Danish instead of Chhetri backfired as he was completely anonymous throughout the game and struggled to put a foot right.
Roy Krishna - 6/10: A player of Roy Krishna's stature is not being utilized properly by Simon Grayson. The Fiji international was trying to make things happen and was the lone warrior.
Substitutes:
Sunil Chhetri - 4/10: Sunil Chhetri had zero influence on the game since he came on.
Rohit Kumar - N/A: He came on during the closing stages of the game.