Mumbai City FC’s remote hopes of a semi-final berth in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League came to an end on Tuesday evening as they lost 3-0 to Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai and marquee player-cum-coach Nicolas Anelka cut a disappointed figure in the post-match press conference.

“A lot of stuff happened during this Hero ISL season. But if you look at the beginning of the season, it was exactly like last season. We started winning and then later on we couldn’t hold on to that streak. I don’t know why but it was exactly the same this year. The players tried their best but we couldn’t help it,” Anelka, whose team will now play defending champions Atlético de Kolkata in their last league match of the season on December 4, told reporters on Tuesday.

The match was played throughout in the pouring rain and Mumbai were no match for Chennaiyin FC after Stiven Mendoza, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Bernard Mendy hit the back of the net for the home team. When asked if they considered pulling out of the game because of the difficult playing conditions, Anelka said: “No, we wanted to play. It was difficult to play on the pitch but that goes for both sides. But the second half was better for our team.”

The former France international was gracious in defeat and said Chennaiyin were the deserving winner. “They are a good team which plays good football. They did everything to win this game. We conceded an early goal and that’s when it became difficult for us. Also, since they were playing at home, they knew the pitch better.”

Anelka also showered praise on Mendoza who scored his 11^th goal of the season. “Mendoza is one of the best strikers because he’s fast, he’s clever and he can score from anywhere. He can also play second fiddle. Maybe, he is the best here,” Anelka said. “He has good qualities…I’m sure he has the qualities to play in Europe.”