(Football news) As the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023–24 season draws to a close, excitement is building for the match between rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Mumbai City FC, which will decide who will win the ISL Cup. The match will take place at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. IST.
In the midst of an exhilarating buzz in the City of Joy, coaches and players from the two finalists gathered for a pre-match press conference to share their thoughts ahead of the championship match of the 10th season of the ISL. Kolkata will host its first-ever ISL final tomorrow.
A match akin to this one took place at this same stadium on April 15, with the Mariners defeating the Islanders 2-1 to unseat Mumbai City FC and win the ISL championship. Habas suffered an ISL final defeat, losing 2-1 to Mumbai City FC, which was the Mariners’ opponent in 2020-21. While it’s typical in football discourse to discuss exacting revenge for such results, Habas’ present perspective goes beyond that.
Mohun Bagan Super Giants, who ended the league stages with 48 points as opposed to the Islanders’ 47, ignited an incredible comeback in the second half of the season to sail towards becoming the ISL Champions. In comparison, Mumbai City FC scored goals 42 times in league games, while they scored 47 goals in their 22 league games.
Jason Cummings, Dimitrios Petratos, Manvir Singh, and Liston Colaco are among the home team’s potent attacking lineup. They will all be pushing to bring their A-game to the table in front of the anticipated 60,000 spectators who will pack the stands to support them through the highs and lows of tomorrow.
Before the ISL 2023–24 league stages came to an end in April, the Mariners had virtually disposed of Mumbai City FC in their championship match. With a ferocious tempo and assertiveness over the Islanders’ own style of play, they put an impeccable-looking team off balance and won 2-1 in a decisive fashion. Coach Petr Kratky of Mumbai City FC is eager to make amends on Saturday, having undoubtedly learned a few lessons from the loss.
However, Kratky is not bogged down by the prospect of taking on the Mohun Bagan Super Giant in front of their mighty home fan base. In fact, the tactician finds it as a source of encouragement, possibly hoping to silence the crowd as a consequence of the possible heroics of his team.
He is even banking on a section of the Mumbai City FC supporters who will be traveling to Kolkata to make their love known for the club ahead of the big day. It’s certain that they will be few in number as compared to the Mariners, but Kratky has assured them that their voice will be heard by the players on the pitch.
In their nine encounters against the Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mumbai City FC has established a scoring spree and boasts an astounding 67% win percentage. Until the very last siren sounds, the Islanders can never be eliminated from a competition. In sharp contrast to the Mariners’ tendency of scoring goals early in the game (25 in the first half of games this season), their second-half prowess is demonstrated by a league-leading 28 goals in that phase of play.
Lallianzuala Chhangte of Mumbai City FC has been a remarkable player, leading the team in xG+xA (expected goals + expected assists) value (14.62) during the current season. The defensive line for both teams will be held together by players like Subhasish Bose (25 blocks and 31 assists), Tiri (68.9% duel success rate), and Hector Yuste (68% duel success rate). Players from the two teams will be keen to leave their marks on ISL history with a strong performance in the championship game, as both squads have shown strengths in different stages of the match.
Also read: Everton will play Luton town in the Premier League
