Mumbai aim to secure maiden playoff berth
Diego Forlan became the first marquee player to score a hat-trick in the ISL on Saturday.
Mumbai: Mumbai City FC can seal a maiden playoff berth in the Indian Super League if they see off Chennaiyin FC at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Wednesday.
Mumbai City, playing their penultimate game, are fresh from a 5-0 demolition of Kerala Blasters and sit pretty at the top of the league with 19 points from 12 matches. Three more points should be good enough for a top-four finish. It is already their best campaign in the ISL with five wins but it is qualification that would matter the most.
“We are on the way. We know that to achieve the first goal is to get to the play-offs. It’s good to have these points with two games left, but we have to get more. Nineteen points are not enough. We must have good performances,” said Mumbai City coach Alexandre Guimaraes.
Diego Forlan became the first marquee player to score a hat-trick in the ISL on Saturday. He is the third hat-trick scorer for Mumbai City after Andre Moritz did it in the first season and Sunil Chhetri thrilled last year.
Forlan, Chhetri and Matias Defederico will be the threat for the visitors up front and the host’s defense has been tough to breach. Defending champions Chennaiyin FC have been inconsistent so far and are sixth with 14 points from 11 matches. They have done well though in the last two games and coach Marco Materazzi will be hoping his team find the magic touch towards the closing stages like they did last season.
“May be we need a little bit of luck. We are still confident of making the play-offs,” said Materazzi. Chennaiyin FC have won just one match away this season but they haven’t lost to Mumbai City yet and have won both previous games in Mumbai between the two sides.