Kerala Blasters stuns the table toppers of ISL
Kerala Blasters defeated Mumbai City FC by 3-0 to move up the points table. The match was played at the Fatorda Stadium on Sunday.
Sahal Abdul Samad (27th), Alvaro Vazquez (47th) and Jorge Pereyra Diaz (51st, penalty) got on the scoresheet for Kerala who moved to fifth in the points table with nine points from six games.
Alvaro Vasquez’s dominating performance played a crucial role in breaking the sloppy defensive line of the Mumbai side. The first half also saw Mohammad Nawaz pull off a stunning save to deny Vasquez from opening the scoring in the 10th minute of the game.
Despite dominating the possession and creating multiple chances Mumbai failed in front of the goal and was often struggling to deal with the counter-press of the Kerala side.
However, Mumbai almost took the lead in the second minute when an Ahmed Jahouh pass found Cassio Gabriel whose effort was saved by Gill but only as far as the post before it was cleared.
Igor Angulo got another chance three minutes later from a Mandar Rao Dessai corner but his attempt was saved by the keeper.
After half time the score was 1-0 with Mumbai still dominating the possession with 406 passes and with a pass accuracy of 76%.
But after half-time, Vazquez produced a moment of magic to double the Blasters lead. Jeakson Singh provided a lovely ball from the right side to Vazquez on the edge of the box and the 30-year-old then smashed a sumptuous volley into the top corner of the goal post.
It got worse for Mumbai when they were reduced to 10 men when Mourtada Fall picked up a second yellow card and was sent off for a tackle on Diaz inside the box. Diaz stepped up and converted the penalty to make it 3-0 and take the game beyond Mumbai.
Mumbai City was undefeated in their last 4 games. Though, even after the loss, Mumbai is still on the top of the table with 15 points.
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