Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Juan Ferrando expressed faith in his squad after they fell 2-1 to Mumbai City FC in an intense battle in Matchweek 11 of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai on Wednesday.

After an extremely intense encounter between the two heavyweights, Mumbai City FC managed to get the better of the Mariners owing to goals from Greg Stewart and Bipin Singh. The match started in favour of Mohun Bagan SG when the Islanders’ full-back, Akash Mishra, received the first red card of the night just 13 minutes into the match.

Australian forward Jason Cummings took advantage of the situation, giving the giants from Kolkata the lead in the 25th minute, only for Mumbai City FC to equalise minutes before the end of the first half through Stewart. Singh wrapped up their comeback by scoring the winner in the 73rd minute, bringing an end to Mohun Bagan SG’s unbeaten start to the season. The second half of the match witnessed six red cards, taking the tally to seven, making it the highest number of red cards shown in a single ISL match.

The head coach is proud of his players for their effort, even with only nine men on the field in the second half.

“For me, the most important (thing) is when we played with nine players, the team tried to fight, we tried to change. We had some chances, with nine players on the field, (which is) perfect. This is the most important and this is the only positive thing today,” stated Ferrando in the post-match press conference.

The Spaniard believes that despite having Hugo Boumous and Dimitrios Petratos back in the squad, it was difficult for them as they had just returned from injury, and with the red cards, the situation worsened for his side.

He said, “We created more chances, but when we conceded the first goal and also we received two yellow cards, the team was in a difficult moment (with) the emotions. The team was not (at) the best performance because honestly, one bit is coming (back) from the injuries. Dimitrios (Petratos) was coming with the injury. Hugo (Boumous) was coming after the injury. So at this moment, it was difficult for us. And one mistake, because honestly, it was one mistake in transition, we conceded one goal in the second half. I think it's more difficult when you have only nine players on the field.”

Ferrando believes that the significant number of suspensions and injuries the club is facing are not his concerns at this moment. He would rather prepare the team with whatever he has and get the best result out of it.

“We say we will find a solution. This is not a problem I have now at this moment. Time to think in the team, to prepare the team. That's all. This is part of football. I don't like to start crying because I have red cars, they have injuries. This is not my opinion. My opinion is to prepare the team,” he shared.

Looking forward to the next game against the league-leader FC Goa, Ferrando added, “We (will) prepare a plan and we (will) try to do our best at home.”

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Mohun Bagan Super Giant2023-2024