Mumbai City FC marquee player-cum-coach Nicolas Anelka was very disappointed following his team’s 7-0 defeat against table-toppers FC Goa in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League at Fatorda’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday evening. After receiving their fourth defeat in 10 matches, to go with three wins and three draws, Mumbai’s chances of a semi-final berth took a big blow on Wednesday with their goal difference also greatly dipping to -6. Anelka admitted there was a long road ahead for his team following the demoralising defeat. “We still have a chance because we have four games to play. But it is going to be very hard now. It was very hard but with this kind of defeat it’s even harder. I don’t know how the players will react in the next game,” Anelka told reporters after the game.When asked what went wrong for his team in the match, Anelka spoke straight from the heart, not trying to hide his disappointment. “The first 30 minutes we played well. After that we conceded a goal… Every time we conceded a goal we put our heads down and we had no power to come back from 1-0. After that we were chasing the game, all the time it was the same thing. Too hard to come back,” the former France international said.Anelka, who played from start to finish in the match, also said it was a collective failure. “Everybody has to defend and everybody has to attack. Today I didn’t see that. I think all of us didn’t deserve to wear this Mumbai City shirt today. It is a big shame because this kind of defeat is not acceptable…I have never lost 7-0 in my life. This is the first time. I am not happy, nobody’s happy. Tactically we have to be better. Every time we change the tactics, it is not working.”Goa, on the other hand, consolidated their position at the top with 18 points from 10 matches. Anelka said giving the Gaurs too much space was his team’s undoing. “They played well but I think we let them. Too much space. We have to be compact, we were not compact…We are where we should be and we deserved what we got today. If after 14 games you don’t qualify for the semis, you are not good enough. It’s simple.”
