Mumbai City bag ISL Shield with 5-3 victory over FC Goa | Football News

MARGAO: A minute before the referee could blow the final whistle, celebrations had already begun in the Mumbai City FC dug-out.
Ahmed Jahouh, who doesn’t touch champagne, opened a water bottle and sprayed it on those ahead of him, notably assistant coach Hiroshi Miyazawa. Others quickly joined the celebrations with coach Des Buckingham waiting for the final whistle at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Saturday.
In reality, Mumbai should have celebrated much earlier, probably the day their 1-1 draw against their nearest challengers, Hyderabad FC, last weekend.
A seven-point lead was never going to be messed up by a side that hasn’t lost in 18 games, and fittingly, Buckingham’s side finished it in style: a 5-3 demolition of FC Goa for their second success in the ISL League Winners’ Shield in just three years since the City Football Group (CFG) took over the club.

Mumbai have now accumulated 46 points, the highest ever, and also broke Goa’s record of 51 goals in the league, with at least four more games still left in the bank.
Not to forget, they are the only unbeaten team in the league. Should they avoid defeat in their next two games – Bengaluru FC (Feb 15) and East Bengal (Feb 19) – they will be Indian football’s first Invincibles since the league system kicked off in 1996.
Given their rollicking form, most were convinced that Mumbai’s win, and subsequent celebrations, were a mere formality on Saturday. But Goa sprang a surprise at the start when Noah Sadaoui opened the account for the hosts inside the first five minutes.

Mumbai equalised through Greg Stewart’s free-kick, and then took the lead through the boots of Jorge Pereyra Diaz. Brandon Fernandes made it 2-2 for Goa, but before ends were changed, the league leaders finished on top with Stewart scoring another one, from a free-kick, raising doubts about the positioning of the goalkeeper and the wall.
Down 2-3 in a frenetic first 45 minutes that saw five goals, Goa were determined to fight back and had chances at the start of the second half, but Anwar Ali handled the ball inside the box for a penalty which Lallianzuala Chhangte converted in the 71st. Substitutes Vikram Pratap Singh and Brison Fernandes both got on the scoresheet for either team, as the game finished 5-3.
Roy Krishna scored for Bengaluru FC as they defeated Kerala Blasters 1-0 to stay in contention for a top-six spot.