Defending champions Mumbai City FC walked away with a thumping 3-0 win in their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season opener against FC Goa, which sent them to the top of the table.

Two first-half goals from the ex-FC Goa forward Igor Angulo gave Mumbai City FC a comfortable lead heading into the interval, and substitute Ygor Catatau marked his debut on Indian soil with a well-placed header in the 76th minute to make it three and put the game to bed.

Angulo was adjudged the ‘Hero of the Match’ due to his brilliance in and around the box, especially for his second goal which was clinically finished into the bottom corner from the edge of the 18-yard-area.

Reflecting on his performance on the night, the striker said, “I am super happy. For us, it was super important to start winning for our confidence. We won very fairly, we certainly want to score more goals. In the first half we had one penalty that the referee didn’t give, one crossbar, I think we could score even more goals.”

The forward wasn’t the only individual representing the Islanders for the first time, as their head coach Des Buckingham also managed his first game in the Hero ISL, replacing the outgoing Sergio Lobera.

The Englishman was more than satisfied with his side’s showing on the night, as he remarked, “I obviously enjoyed it. To start off the back of last season, and to continue that on with a win and a 3-0 win was very pleasing, but again it is just the start for us.”

Speaking about his tactical approach at Mumbai City FC, the gaffer said, “We’ve tried to not change too much but just tried to add to what Sergio (Lobera) did here last year. What was achieved here last year, was the first time ever the club has achieved what it has. The style Sergio had the club playing was fantastic, so my job coming in is to try and take that on and evolve that.”

On the other side, FC Goa’s head coach Juan Ferrando was critical of his side’s performance as he singled out poor transition play as their biggest negative, as he felt they gave away the ball in their buildup play on several occasions. Ferrando would look to brush aside this blemish on his otherwise successful Hero ISL record, as he heads into the next game.

“In this moment firstly the thinking in my plan to try and find the mistakes and details and then to help the mentality of the team. This is most important now. The rest of the things I think it is not necessary to put attention to. Of course, we lose, of course, our performance was not good, most important is maybe a little work and to change these details,” he revealed, stating what his plan for the coming days is going to be.

Jamshedpur FC will be FC Goa’s next hurdle, when the two sides face-off on November 26, while Mumbai City FC lock horns with Hyderabad FC next, on November 27.