Mumbai City FC managed to stall Chennaiyin FC from picking up their fourth consecutive Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 win at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. Achille Emana’s 60th-minute penalty proved to be the difference as the hosts edged Chennai with a well-fought 1-0 win.

In the post-match press conference, Mumbai’s head coach Alexandre Guimaraes was asked by the media how he felt after the well-earned victory at home, to which he replied, “We knew that we have to be very strong here at home, and we understood after the first half, the kind of game that the opponents were trying to play. I think in the second half we deserved the win. They had a clear chance, sure, but after that, we had many chances. Finally, we are back in the league. Too many teams are close to each other, so I am happy because we showed that it will be tough for others here.”

He further added, “Sometimes you have your own version of the game. I just have to say that we are glad that we won and this is what the game is about. I think that we played better in the second half than them. But, every game is going to be a battle, and tonight we won the battle.”

Even though Mumbai won, the fact that their defence looked more solid than their attack was fairly visible. Speaking on this, the Costa Rican said, “I think that first of all, you have to understand the type of game that the other team is playing. So, I think we understood that very well in Kerala, and today again. In our case, the idea is the same from last season. We have to be solid defensively because we know we also have players that can make a difference, and I think that in the second half they had more chances to make a difference. Sometimes we lacked precision.”

Before signing off, the 58-year old also heaped praise on his goalkeeper Amrinder Singh. The 24-year made three fantastic saves to ensure the team maintained a clean sheet. “For me, he is the best goalkeeper in India. He showed that last season and is showing it again now. But, he knows that he has to continue to improve because there are other good goalkeepers also. This season, he is showing that he is giving us a good backup there. Last season too, we won many games 1-0. So, the thing is that we won. Of course, we had some chances after 1-0 to score more goals, but today 1-0 was enough,” he concluded.