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| Pic Credit- ISL |
We reached the conclusion of the Hero Indian Super League Season 7 final as Mumbai City FC faced off against ATK Mohun Bagan in the final to contest for the glorious crown of the being the Champions of HERO ISL. After 114 days and 114 matches the stage was set for the two of the best teams of the season to take center stage once again.
In the last fixture of the league stage, Mumbai City FC defeated ATK Mohun Bagan 2-0 to claim the top spot from them and finished ahead on Goal Difference which handed them the League Shield title and ensured their place in the group stages of the AFC Champions League next season.
This was Mumbai's first final appearance. Just before the season they became a part of the City Football Group (CFG) which is owned by Premier League side Manchester City. With new involvement, saw some new arrivals as they looked to challenge for the title.
As for ATK Mohun Bagan, this was their first season in existence after ATK FC and Mohun Bagan merged together. ATK FC before that were the most successful club in ISL History by winning the competition in three occasion in 2014 and 2016 as Atletico de Kolkata(in partnership with Atletico Madrid) and as ATK FC last season.
After some real pressure from both sides, it was ATK Mohun Bagan who drew first blood as their high pressing allowed Captain Roy Krishna to lay out a ball for his strike partner David Williams who smashed his effort above Mumbai keeper Amrinder Singh to make it 1-0 in the 18th minute.
Well if ATK Mohun Bagan could take the lead to a defensive mistake, why couldn't Mumbai do the same? A long ball in the 29th minute was played and a complete miscommunication between defender Tiri and keeper Arindam Bhattacharya unfortunately resulted in Tiri heading the ball into his own net to make it 1-1.
There was huge stoppage of around 9 minutes at the end of the half when Mumbai City's right back Andy Ranawade went down at the touchline. An ambulance was rushed on the pitch before he was carried out. We hope it's nothing serious and he recovers quickly.
The were two moments which changed the game completely in the second half. In the 61st minute, ATK Mohun Bagan had the ball in the back of net from an own goal by Mumbai's Rakip who inadvertently turned the ball in. However Assistant Referee raised his flag up as Krishna was in an offside position and thought he was involved in the play. The replays cleared showed he didn't make a single attempt as Mumbai recieved a major let off.
As the game was looking to go into extra time, Mumbai City snatched the lead in the 90th minute of the game when Arindam made another howler and failed to catch the ball. Substitute Bartholomew Ogbeche laid out the ball to Bipin Singh who made no mistake inside the box to slam it home to give Mumbai a 2-1 lead.
Mumbai City FC are now the first team in ISL History to do the double as the claimed a maiden ISL Title.
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