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ISL 2021-22: Igor Angulo and Ygor Catatau scored as Mumbai City FC got their title defence campaign off a brilliant start, beating FC Goa 3-0.
Igor Angulo turned out to be the thorn for FC Goa as he scored twice to help Mumbai City FC to a 3-0 win over the Gaurs at the Fatorda Stadium on Monday. Angulo, who was frozen out by FC Goa towards the end of the last campaign, moved to Mumbai in the summer and with a point to prove, Angulo did what he does best. Ygor Catatau also found the back of the net with his first touch for Mumbai as the Islanders cruised to the win and got a winning start to their title defence.
Raynier Fernandes shone for Mumbai City FC on the night while FC Goa will have to go back to the drawing board and improve their creativity for the upcoming games. FC Goa had more of the ball, had better pass accuracy but Mumbai City FC were more effective.
Mumbai City FC had a brilliant first half where they saw their main man, ex-FC Goa striker, Igor Angulo find the back of the net twice to put Mumbai City FC 2-0 up. For the first 20 minutes, both teams were cagey and the pace of the game was low but once Mumbai got going, FC Goa were left all hassled.
Mumbai City FC were denied a penalty early on when Leander D’Cunha brought down Vignesh Dakshinamurthy in the box but they not the second time when Ivan Gonzalez fouled Cassio. Angulo stepped up from the spot and gave Mumbai the lead with an affirming strike into the far right corner.
Three minutes later, Ahmed Jahouh did extremely well to pass to Raynier Fernandes who made an inch-perfect pass to Angulo. The striker took one quick touch and slotted the ball home.
FC Goa inexperience at the back showed as Leander, Papuia and Sanson struggled to keep pace and hold their shape very well. FC Goa also struggled to move the ball up in spaces that matter while Mumbai put their pressing game to use, won the ball in dangerous areas and created chances.
Mumbai had a golden chance to go 3-0 up when Raynier had the ball completely unmarked but his shot hit the post.
The second half started better for FC Goa as they got more control of the ball and starting taking the game to their opponents. Juan Ferrando brought on Nongdamba Naorem, Devendra Murgaonkar and Jorge Ortiz to change the face of the game and get Goa back in the game.
Goa had a few good moves, found better spaces and did get going but not in terms of goals.
Des Buckingham then made a triple substitution for Mumbai City FC and brought on Ygor Catatau, who scored with his very first touch to put Mumbai 3-0 up. The FC Goa defence was once again at fault there as no one marked him and then Dheeraj let the ball slip in.
FC Goa kept going despite being three goals down but Mumbai stayed compact and it proved to be too huge a hill to climb for the Gaurs.
The Spanish striker who won the Golden Boot last season with Goa showed his former team what they are missing as he scored two in Mumbai’s comfortable 3-0 win at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Monday.
Goa head coach Juan Ferrando had praised Igor’s efficiency in front of goal and the Spanish striker returned to haunt his former club. The 37-year-old, dropped for the AFC Champions League, first converted a penalty in the 33rd minute and then sealed his brace three minutes later with a peach of a strike.
Brazilian Ygor Catatau rose from the bench in the second half and scored with his first touch, giving Mumbai’s title defence the perfect start under new coach Des Buckingham.
The result ended Goa’s 15-match unbeaten run in the league.
Goa had fallen short in last season’s semifinals in the penalty shoot-out against Mumbai and there were high hopes from the Durand Cup champions in Ferrando’s second season.
The teams were cautious with their approach and tried to work on their combinations. But It wasn’t easy to build up promising moves.
Mumbai’s Vignesh Dakshinamurthy did come up with a solo run early in the game, but had to pay a price for it after a tackle by left-back Leander D’Cunha, who started ahead of international Seriton Fernandes. Goa were lucky as match referee A Rowan overlooked the penalty call, even as Mumbai were forced to replace the injured Vignesh.
While the physical battle continued, Glan Martins did well to win the ball from Ahmed Jahouh at the half an hour mark after a pass from goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz. However, Goa’s new striker Airam Cabrera couldn’t connect the decisive pass from Glan in front of goal.
At the other end, Mumbai soon won a penalty after the cooling break when Ivan Gonzalez brought down Cassio Gabriel. Igor stepped up for the spot-kick and sent it past goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh.
Three minutes later, Goa were rubbing their eyes in disbelief as Igor finished with yet another clinical strike.
It could have been worse for Goa before the break when debutant Lalhmangaihsanga lost the ball to Cassio. Mumbai marched in numbers but Raynier Fernandes didn’t have the composure in a one-on-one situation and saw his effort come off the horizontal bar.
Goa did start the second half with a desire to get back into the match but were losing possession in dangerous areas, inviting pressure on themselves.
Airam worked hard but missed distribution from midfield which the injured Brandon Fernandes could have provided. Ferrando decided to introduce Jorge Ortiz in place of Airam in the hope of pulling a goal back.
With 15 minutes left to be played, the teams made a couple of substitutions. But it were Mumbai who benefited from a set piece as Ygor headed in off a free-kick to leave Goa shell-shocked.
