New Delhi: Uruguayan football legend and Mumbai City FC marquee player Diego Forlan unfurled a masterclass for more than 7,000 adoring fans at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday with a classy hat-trick as the hosts pummeled a hapless Kerala Blasters FC into submission by a thumping 5-0 margin.
Two goals from Forlan gave Mumbai a 2-0 first-half lead before he came back from the break to get his third. The rout was completed by Cafu and Lucian Goian as Alexandre Guimaraes’ men climbed to the top of the Hero Indian Super League table with 19 points, two better than Delhi Dynamos.
The hosts went ahead five minutes into the game after Forlan found himself on goal courtesy a brilliant through-ball by Matias Defederico and executed a clinical first-time finish.
Graham Stack in Kerala’s goal was helpless in the 14th minute when Forlan fired a direct free-kick from just outside the box to perfection, Mumbai up 2-0 inside 15 minutes.
C.K. Vineeth shot goalwards in the 62nd minute after a Kerala corner made its way to him at the far post. However, his shot on target was well saved by Amrinder. Mumbai sealed the points a minute later as Forlan scored his third of the night as well as the first hat-trick of the season.
A poor clearance by Kerala’s defence was pounced on by Cafu inside the penalty area. The Brazilian midfielder passed to Forlan, who finished in composed fashion through Stack’s legs.
Cafu joined the party in the 69th minute when he collected a Defederico pass and sending a left-footed shot whistling into the top corner and it was 5-0 shortly after Goian produced a powerful header from a Defederico corner to add insult to injury for Kerala with 17 minutes still to go.
