Ratings: Greg Stewart shines as FC Goa hand Mumbai City the Shield

The Gaurs were swatted aside by the Islanders once again after a scintillating attacking display.

FC Goa were dismantled by Mumbai City in a 5-3 loss as the Islanders won the ISL 2022-23 League Winners' Shield at the Fatorda Stadium on Saturday. What started off as a tight end-to-end game tilted in favour of the men in light blue as they increased their attacking tempo midway. Noah Sadaoui opened the scoring for the hosts before Greg Stewart equalised for the visitors.

Jorge Pereyra Diaz ghosted behind a napping Gaurs defence, next, to get the finishing touch on a Lallianzuala Chhangte cross. Brandon Fernandes was the one to level the proceedings for the Gaurs with a well-measured run and finish. Greg Stewart then stepped up to justify his price tag once again, making it 3-1 for Mumbai City on the brink of half-time.

After the break, Des Buckingham ensured his men still had the reins of the match in their hands. In the 71st minute, Chhangte's cross hit Anwar Ali in the arm and the referee pointed to the point. The Mizo flash banged in yet another spectacular goal, this time from the spot. Vikram Partap Singh then came on and scored after confusion inside the FC Goa box to make it five for Mumbai City. Brison scored a late consolation goal but by then Carlos Pena's men had already handed the trophy to the riveting Islanders.

Let us now take a look at the player ratings for this match:

FC Goa (By Riddhiman Sarkar)

Dheeraj Singh - 5.5

Made three saves but conceded a yellow for a foul on a hard day for the Gaurs. 

Seriton Fernandes - 6

Probably the most solid defender amidst an appalling FC Goa backline. Made one interception, one clearance and won three challenges (two ground and one aerial) before going off. Gave way to Aiban Dohling in the 80th minute after getting injured. 

Fares Arnaout - 5.5

Dismal from the beginning as he failed to mark Jorge Pereyra Diaz, who raced in to finish Chhangte’s cross. Although he tried his best with two clearances and one blocked shot, he couldn’t match up to the Islanders’ might.

Anwar Ali - 5.5

Equally uninvolved as he allowed Vikram a free header inside the box to make it five for Mumbai City. Finished the game with only two aerial duels won. Gave away a penalty as well.

Sanson Pereira - 5

Poor from Pereira who failed to win six of his 11 challenges. Repeatedly tangled in a heap by the nimble Chhangte who dribbled past him thrice.

Devendra Murgaonkar - 6

Couldn’t offer FC Goa much in 75 minutes of action as he came off for Redeem Tlang with only 33 touches on the ball.  

Edu Bedia - 6

Failed to exert the amount of control asked of him despite playing as part of a five-man midfield. Minimal activity in defensive actions (one tackle won) and no key passes saw him get subbed off for Hernan Santana in the 57th minute.  

Ayush Dev Chhetri - 6

Completed one take-on but was swept aside by the collective brilliance of Apuia, Greg Stewart and Alberto Noguera. Won 50% of his tackles and completed 92% of his passes but couldn’t generate anything substantial. 

Brandon Fernandes - 7

Hard day at office for the captain as his defenders let him down. Scored a goal. Brandon saw yellow for a tackle on Diaz and generated four key chances that no one could really finish off.

Noah Sadaoui - 7.5

Brilliant spark for FC Goa on a hard outing at home as he scored once and set Brandon free with a seeking long ball for the captain to finish. Did not stop running in spite of a disheartening scoreline.

Iker Guarrotxena - 5.5

A toothless performance from the Spaniard which defied his electric form and saw him get only one shot on target. Neither did he generate any key passes nor did he attempt any cross before he went off for Alvaro Vazquez in the 75th minute.

Substitutes

Hernan Santana - 6.5

Fulfilled his fair share of defensive and possession-based gameplay as he won three of his four ground challenges and completed 93% of his passes.

Aiban Dohling - 6

Was dribbled past once after he came on and could not really plug the Gaurs defence.

Brison Fernandes - 7

Rolled his hips and finished with aplomb as Vazquez’s cutback found him on the edge of the box. 

Alvaro Vazquez - 6.5

Assisted Brison after coming on but the goal still seems to avoid him as he missed an opportunity from point-blank range.

Redeem Tlang - N/A  

Mumbai City FC (By Tarkesh Jha)

Phurba Lachenpa – 6

Lachenpa was put to test by the Gaur forwards in the first half and he responded well by making two saves. The goalkeeper couldn’t do much to take care of the strikes that Mumbai City conceded though.

Sanjeev Stalin – 6

Sanjeev tackled thrice, intercepted once and completed 90 per cent of his passes to fill in ably for Rahul Bheke at the right-hand side of the backline.

Rostyn Griffiths – 6.5

Rostyn restored parity in the defence as he made four clearances, intercepted and made two blocks each, in addition to maintaining an impressive 91 per cent passing accuracy.

Mehtab Singh – 5.5

Mehtab was caught off-guard on occasions though and that reflected in his passing as well as the centre-back could maintain only 82 per cent accuracy. He made two tackles, clearances along with an interception and a block each.

Vignesh Dakshinamurthy – 6.5

With five tackles and two clearances, Vignesh diligently carried out his defensive duties on the left flank. He often veered ahead, attempting two shots and putting in a cross as well.

Lalengmawia Ralte – 6.5

Apuia balanced his ventures on both ends of the field quite well as he tackled four times but also secured an assist to add more feathers in a season where his offensive contributions are really coming to the fore.

Ahmed Jahouh – 5

It was an indifferent outing in his old hunting ground for Ahmed Jahouh as the Moroccan midfielder didn’t tackle even once during the 64 minutes he stayed on the field. His offensive endeavours were minimal as well and Mumbai City found their grip back in the proceedings once he was taken off.

Greg Stewart – 7.5

Greg Stewart rediscovered his goal-scoring touch in a crucial game for Mumbai City as he bagged a brace, created two goal-scoring chances and emerged as a constant menace for the Gaurs’ backline to drag Mumbai to a victory.

Bipin Singh – 6

Bipin shot twice on target but he tended to succumb to FC Goa’s pressing and went a bit erratic with his passes – completing only 65 per cent of them eventually.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – 7.5

Chhangte helped Mumbai City get a hold over the three points by converting the spot-kick in the 71st minute and assistance prior to that to deliver another fine performance this season.

Jorge Pereyra Diaz – 7

It was business as usual for Mumbai’s star striker as his goal in the 40th minute emanated the traits of fine finishing and fantastic game-awareness that he has demonstrated in abundance throughout this campaign.

Substitutes

Mourtada Fall – 6

Fall filled in solidly in the final quarter of the game and also assisted once to culminate a fitting cameo performance.

Alberto Noguera – 5.5

Noguera added fresh energy to Mumbai City’s midfield as he initiated quite a few of their forward forays and also tackled and intercepted once each.

Rowllin Borges - 5.5

Borges did the task asked off him as he tackled twice and intercepted twice whilst helping Mumbai defend their lead towards the end of the game.

Vikram Partap Singh – 7

Vikram scored off his only shot in the game to seal Mumbai City’s fate and capped off another impactful performance off the bench.

Gurkirat Singh Gill – N/A