Mumbai City FC virtually face a do-or-die situation when they host Chennaiyin FC in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday. While a win will guarantee them the final remaining semi-final slot, a loss will knock them out of reckoning. A draw, meanwhile, will keep them alive mathematically, but will also make them heavily dependent on other results in order to qualify.

At the pre-match press conference, Mumbai head coach Jorge Costa affirmed that a win was the only thing in the team’s mind and said, “We must do it as a team. This Chennaiyin team is a very different from the one from earlier in the season, especially since their new head coach came in. They are a very good team with a lot of very good players. The players know what we need to do, but we need to do it as a team.”

“It’s our last one of the league phase and the most important of the season. It’s one game we want and need to win. The situation is simple. We have to win. Win or win – these are our only two options for the next match,” he later added.

The Islanders lost their last outing to FC Goa 5-2 – a result which complicated their charge for the top four considerably. Addressing the same, Costa stated, “We wanted a different result against Goa but had to come back with zero points. I told the players nothing has changed. I am proud of the work we have been doing since the beginning of the season. The good thing is that it’s still in our hands. We have to win and we will finish in the top four. I believe that we will do it.”

The 48-year-old also admitted that individual mistakes have cost Mumbai this season but refused to single it out as the primary factor behind the team not being able to seal a top four spot yet. “Individual mistakes have cost us but we aren’t the only team which is making them. I focus on things I can control – my team and my players. It’s my job to try and help them avoid these mistakes. At this level, mistakes cost points,” he said.

Asked if he will be altering anything for the upcoming tie, he replied, “We don’t change our approach in accordance to the opposition. We have our own way of doing things. We may have to make minor tweaks but the principles remain the same. We have been working together for so many months to achieve that.”

Defender Subhasish Bose, who accompanied the boss to the presser, noted, “We will work as per our head coach’s instructions. It’s like a final for us, a do-or-die situation. We will try to win and finish in the top four. We can’t look at the past. We have to look forward to the next match. We will try everything to win.”

Read the Match Preview here.