Recap

Mumbai City FC wrapped up a win against Kerala Blasters FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday to record their second victory of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season. Late goals from Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) graduate Nathan Rodrigues and skipper Lallianzuala Chhangte ensured that the Islanders broke through and secured three points to round off a hard-fought triumph.

Striker Nikolaos Karelis bagged a brace for the Petr Kratky-coached side, netting once in either halves. His pinpoint accuracy from close range was visible when he tapped in a squared up pass by Chhangte in the ninth minute. As Mumbai City FC charged up ahead in tandem, Karelis timed his run to perfection and struck the ball home without breaking any sweat.

The game hung fairly in balance before resulting in a goal-scoring frenzy in the final 40-odd minutes. It all kicked off with Kerala Blasters FC defender Naocha Singh getting shown a yellow card in the 55th minute, handing the Islanders a spot-kick. Karelis converted the penalty and got Mumbai City FC two steps ahead in the proceedings, but the visitors clawed back immediately afterwards – thanks to forward Kwame Peprah drawing a foul inside the 18-yard box.

With Jesus Jimenez stepping up on the spot, the lead of the home side was halved as the forward fired the ball to the top left corner in the 57th minute. Peprah was central in securing the equaliser too, as a culmination of a dynamic Kerala Blasters FC attack. Adrian Luna’s slick delivery to Peprah at the centre of the box was powerfully headed in by the forward, levelling the scores in the 71st minute. Peprah was sent off just afterwards though, bringing Kerala Blasters FC down to 10 men – opening the floodgates of a Mumbai City FC comeback.

Four minutes later, Mumbai City FC earned a corner and Brandon Fernandes’ delivery was not cleared properly by the visitors’ backline. The ball landed at the feet of Nathan, who drilled the ball into the bottom left corner to become the fourth youngest goal-scorer for Mumbai City FC in the ISL at 20 years of age, after Pranjal Bhumij (19y 217d), Vikram Partap Singh (19y 319d), and Gurkirat Singh (20y 165d).

At the 90th minute mark, the Islanders were handed a reprieve as Vibin Mohanan’s foul inside the box gave them another spot-kick. Chhangte converted the penalty with a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner to give Mumbai City FC an extra cushion that helped them see the game off conveniently.