Indian Super League Highlights: Andre Moritz Scores Hat-Trick as Mumbai City FC Thrash FC Pune City 5-0
It was abattle of Maharashtra when Mumbai City FC hosted FC Pune City in the Indian Super League. Catch all the highlights here.
Two neighbouring cities faced off in a bid for supremacy in the Indian Super League. Catch all the highlights here (Matchcentre):
20:53 (IST): The final whistle is blown and that is the end of the contest. Mumbai win 5-0 and the hero is Andre Moritz.
20:44 (IST): GOAL! Letzelter makes it 5-0 in the 85th minute and Mumbai are running away with the game.
20:39 (IST): Moritz leaves the field and what a performance by him.
20:31 (IST): GOAL! Moritz has the first hat-trick of the Indian Super League. Brilliant finish to earn that. The Brazilian bursts into the box, makes some room and scuffles the ball from his right foot to send it low into the left corner.
20:26 (IST): Bruno Cirillo makes a brutal back tackle on Jan Stohanzl. This is a combination of sheer frustration and the tackle made by Stohanzl earlier in the half. The free kick is slammed straight into the wall.
20:22 (IST): Nadong and David Trezeguet both go for a 50-50 air ball. Nadong fails to get the ball but lands flat on his back. The thud did soften the midfielder for a moment but he is back on his feet now.
20:14 (IST): Jan Stohanzl pokes in an elbow to commit a foul on Dharmaraj Ravanan. The visitors are agitated and there is a tussle between the players.
20:04 (IST): The second half gets underway with Mumbai looking for more goals and Pune trying to get on the scoresheet. FC Pune City are trailing by 3 goals and it looks like an uphill task. The Maharashtra derby looks in the home side's hands at the moment.
19:47 (IST): The referee blows the whistle for half-time and Mumbai lead 3-0 courtesy a brace from Moritz and a goal from Subhash.
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19:38 (IST): GOAL! Subhash drills it in and Mumbai are all over Pune in this first half. The lean Indian forward receives the ball, rages towards the goal and fires it low and hard to find the right-hand bottom corner. The goalie did dive but the shot had too much venom for him to handle.
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19:34 (IST): Subhash moves swiftly along the right side of the 18-yard box in the 31st minute. He looks up to search for his teammates. He spots one and crosses it behind the line of defence. Didika collects the ball, takes a touch and blazes it to the right side of the goalie. Emanuele Belardi was alert there as he dives to his right to make a strong save.
19:28 (IST): GOAL! Moritz does it again to score his second of the night. Mumbai lead 2-0 in 27th minute vs Pune. Nadong slams a header, on target, and Belardi is forced to punch that out for a corner. Didika puts in a lovely ball at the near post to find Andre Moritz who just taps it in the goal. That was seriously poor defending by the visitors.
19:23 (IST): Jan Stohanzl has the idea but undercooks the cross as the ball goes straight into the arms of Emanuele Belardi. Mumbai lose out on a good chance to double their lead.
19:17 (IST): The first corner goes the home side's way in the 15th minute. The delivery is a good one as the ball curls in inside in front of the goal. The defender gets back in time and clears it to evade danger.
19:13 (IST): GOAL! Moritz finds the back of the net and Mumbai have an early lead against Pune in the 12th minute. Mumbai clear the ball and break into a counter-attack. Mortiz collects the ball just ahead of the half line. Dribbles it ahead, cuts in nimbly and places it from the inside of the left foot to beat the keeper.
19:10 (IST): Lenny gets a juicy volley outside the box in the 6th minute, on the right side. He goes for glory but only manages to kick thin air as the ball goes below his legs.
19:06 (IST): Peter Costa makes a challenge from the back and trips David Trezeguet and offers a free kick in a dangerous position. Trezeguet goes for it and scoops it way above the cross bar.
19:03 (IST): A free-kick for Pune as early as the 3rd minute but the ball soars over goal.
19:00 (IST): The match gets underway with both teams looking for a win.
18:57 (IST): The hosts did not start on a bright note as they fell flat on their face to a strong Kolkata side. Pune, on the other hand, managed to steal a point after settling for a draw in their opener. Both the sides will fight tooth and nails to come out victorious in this clash. The crowd will also be an electric one as the fans will have to choose between the sister cities. Mumbai will definitely hope and pray for the return of their Marquee player - Fredrik Ljungberg to add creativity in the attack.
18:53 (IST): The players are on the field as the crowd stand for the Indian National Anthem.
MAHARASHTRA DERBY
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In what could be termed as the Maharashtra Indian Super League derby, Mumbai City FC and FC Pune City will lock horns on Saturday with both teams seeking a win after unimpressive starts to the franchise-based football tournament.
Both were winless in their lung openers, played away from home even though Pune emerged with a single point after the goalless draw against Delhi Dynamos while Mumbai were thrashed 3-0 by Athletico de Kolkata in the inaugural match.
Both teams, thus, would be eager to get their campaigns back on track with a victory in front of a big crowd witnessing a top-level football competition for the first time in this satellite town.
While Mumbai, co-owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh, did not get the desired result on the first day of the tournament, there were quite a few positives that the team could take from the encounter. Despite the absence of their marquee players Freddie Ljungberg of Sweden and Frenchman Nicolas Anelka, the team had 57 percent possession in the game and had more shots on goal than their opponents. (Read: Fans Await Maharashtra Derby as Pune, Mumbai Clash)
GOALLESS DRAW
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Delhi Dynamos were better but wasteful as they paid the price for their profligacy even as Alessandro del Piero's presence failed to break the deadlock in their barren draw against FC Pune City in the Indian Super League.
'King Alex' did not start, much to the disappointment of the 30000-odd turnout at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, but the Italian and Juventus legend was introduced in the 37th minute amid the loudest cheers from a fairly packed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The Dynamos missed chances galore till the final whistle. In the 90th minute, Brazilian Gustavo Dos Santos, coming on as a late substitute, unleashed a left-footer only to see the ball hitting the upright after the goalkeeper was beaten. (Read: Delhi Dynamos and FC Pune City Finish 0-0; Alessandro Del Piero Dazzles on Debut)
SUNK BY KOLKATA'S SPANISH ARMADA
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Atletico de Kolkata gave the football-crazy city fans a night to remember in their 3-0 drubbing of Mumbai City FC as the inaugural Hero Indian Super League football tournament kicked off in spectacular fashion after a star-studded opening ceremony.
It was Fikru Teferra who struck the first goal of the ISL to give the home franchise a 27th minute lead to bring the 70,000 capacity crowd at the Salt Lake Stadium to their feet, while Borja Fernandez's stunning volley from the edge of the box delighted one and all with some top quality stuff.
Substitute Arnal Llibert (90+3rd) gave the Kolkatans enough reasons to celebrate by turning Fikru's cross from the right to give a perfect ending to the match of the league touted to change the landscape of Indian football. (Read: Atletico de Kolkata Demolish Mumbai City FC in Opener)