ISL 2019-20: Kerala Blasters vs Mumbai City FC Live Commentary

Published at :October 25, 2019 at 12:11 AM

Modified at :October 25, 2019 at 6:46 AM

Dakir Thanveer

0-1

82' Chermiti

28, 445

Read match report: Amine Chermiti winner help Mumbai City edge Kerala Blasters

Read Indian player ratings of the match: Kerala Blasters Vs Mumbai City: Amrinder, Souvik best of the lot

Read post-match press conference of Kerala Blasters: Eelco Schattorie: Take responsibility for the loss, Mumbai was lucky

Read post-match press conference of Mumbai City FC: Jorge Costa: Referee made a huge mistake but it was a fair win

Read Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC players' reactions: Kerala Blasters Vs Mumbai City: Player Reactions

Well, well! Mumbai City FC hand Kerala Blasters their first defeat of the season after an 82nd-minute goal from Amine Chermiti broke the hearts of the Manjappada! Kerala showed determination to get back in the game and enjoyed more of the ball following Mumbai's goal. And it was in the last minute of the game that they were able to create a goalscoring chance. While Ogbeche pulled out a brilliant save from Mumbai goalkeeper Amrinder, the Nigerian will be kicking himself for not finding the back of the net from that chance. In the end, Mumbai managed to hold on to their lead and take home the three points. This is Dakir Thanveer signing off! Goodnight ladies and gentlemen!

90+8' BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEP!! It's full-time in Kochi and it is the visitors who claim the victory. Disappointment for Kerala Blasters and their fans!

90+6 CLOOOSSEEEE!!!! A Kerala attack sees Sahal with the ball in the box. The midfielder finds Ogbeche, who does brilliantly to have a shot on goal! But Amrinder stands up to him and pulls out a match-winning save!

90+4 Games resumes with a Kerala free-kick, which like the rest of their set-pieces come to nothing.

90+2 Sougou is down with injury and Kerala fans are not happy.

90' Kerala win a corner as they desperately look for an equaliser. Jessel is over the set-piece. The left-back's corner finds Moustapha, who fails to find the target. Five minutes added time is announced!

88' Carneiro delivers a cross into the box after a series of passes from the Blasters players. However, the cross is cleared by Golui, whose clearance finds Sougou in the other half but the forward is called offside.

86' Jeakson wins a free-kick for Kerala but Sahal's following set-piece is very disappointing. Meanwhile, another Mumbai dugout member is given yellow card.

84' WOOO! Bilal comes off his line to take the ball over from Jairo but messes it up leading Sougou to be through on a goalie-less goal. However, Sougou's shot is off target. Relief for Bilal!

82' GOOOAAAAALLLLLL! CHERMITI SCORES FOR MUMBAI! Souvik drives a low cross into the box, which the Kerala defenders fail to clear and Chermiti gets on the end of it to fire it past Bilal.

80' Moustapha concedes a free-kick in the Kerala half and Larbi is set to take it. The Tunisian goes for goal but the shot is wide off target.

78' Meanwhile Mumbai get ready to take a free-kick near the half-way line. The cross is easily headed away by the Kerala defenders. The second ball goes to Subhasish, who shoots it first time but fails to find the target.

77' SUBSTITUTION. Sahal Abdul Samad comes on for Prasanth and the Manjappada is roaring for their local boy!

74' SUBSTITUTION. Serge Kevyn replaces Diego Carlos for Mumbai. Sahal is getting ready to come on.

73' Rahul finds Ogbeche just outside the penalty area. Kerala skipper passes the ball to Prasanth on the right-wing. However, the winger's cross is nothing but poor.

71' Rahul win's a free-kick but Carneiro's long ball is punched away by Amrinder, leading Mumbai to start a counter attack, which ends without much coming out of it.

70' Messi plays a pass to Rahul in the attacking half. The Malayali finds Carneiro on the left wing but the left-back's cross is cleared away by the Mumbai defenders.

67' Moustapha wins a free-kick in the Kerala attacking half, while Messi Bouli gets ready to come on. The striker replaces Cidoncha.

65' Now, on the other side Jairo gets booked for committing a foul just outside the penalty area. Mumbai receive a free-kick and then a corner but fail to take advantage of them both.

63' CLOSE! Kerala make nothing of the corner. However, Jessel goes for a long-range shot, which just misses the target.

62' Cido's resulting free-kick's hits the wall and goes for a corner. Meanwhile, one of the coaches in Mumbai dugout is shown a yellow card.

61' Rahul wins a free-kick in a dangerous position. The teenager was brought down by Golui, who goes inside referee's book.

58' Rahul in the midst of action again. This time conceding a free-kick in his own half. Diego Carlos's ball finds Bose, who can only get a tame header on goal.

56' Rahul makes an immediate impact for Kerala, winning a corner. Cido's resulting corner is disappointing, however.

54' Substitution for Kerala as local boy Rahul KP comes on for Narzary. The crowd is buzzing for him.

53' CLOSE! Larbi and Diego Carlos with a lovely one-two play, which sees Larbi play a ball into the box for Sougou, whose shot is just wide.

51' Narzary finds himself in space down the middle and then tries to pass the ball to Ogbeche with a poor pass, leading Mumbai to start a counter-attack, which Rakip manages to send away for a corner.

47' Rakip concedes a free-kick on the right wing. Larbi's free-kick is dangerous. Bilal comes forward to punch it away and does just enough to clear the danger.

46' And the second half is underway!

HALF-TIME ANALYSIS: Neither side succeeded in creating clear-cut chances in the first-half. Mumbai looked threatening in many instances, with Diego Carlos causing trouble for Jessel Carneiro on the right-wing. However, they failed to create anything clear cut apart from forcing Bilal to make a couple of saves. Kerala, on the other hand, have been wasteful in the final third. The Blasters are not using the ball well in their attacking half and gave it away cheaply on many occasions. Mumbai made two changes towards the end of the half and it must be injuries that led Jorge Costa to do so but now that Sougou is in, we can expect something from the Islanders star man. Sahal Abdul Samad could be the one to change the game for Blasters and the fans will be looking forward to it.

45+2 Referee blows the final whistle of the first-half as two minutes of added time passes. The first-half ends in 0-0.

45+1 Jessel finds Jairo from the corner but the defender fails to find the target. Moustapha cheekily tries to use his hand to put the ball in the back of the net. However, referee spots it and gives him a yellow card.

44' Ogbeche wins free-kick in a good position. Cido with a good cross into the box and finds Jairo who heads the ball towards goal. However, Amrinder manages to push it out for a corner.

42' SUBSTITUTION. Mumbai make a double change in the first half. Modou Sougou comes on for Machado and Pratik Chowdharky comes on for Grgic.

40' Zuiverloon plays a through pass for Narzary, who is back on the left-wing. As the winger gets the touch on the ball, Grgic brings him down with a sliding tackle. The referee shows the Croatian the first yellow card of the match. 38' Prasanth concedes a free-kick in Kerala's half, fouling Machado. Mumbai opts for short passes this time but makes nothing out of it in the end. 35' Cido wins a free-kick in the attacking half but Jairo's ball is disappointing, leading Mumbai to start a quick counter attack. Diego Carlos with lovely footwork on the right side of the box and plays a cross. However, Zuiverloon heads it away for a corner. 34' Meanwhile, Prasanth and Narzary have switched flanks as Kerala look to unlock the Mumbai defence. 33' Jairo with a clean tackle on Chermiti, who would have gone through on goal if it wasn't for the Brazilian centre-back. 31' Rakip tries to find someone in the box but it is Souvik who gets on it. Realising Prasanth's press, Amrinder comes forward and clears the ball away. 29' Kerala manage to defend the corner but Mumbai immediately come back with a long ball into the box. Bilal comes forward to collect it but spills the ball completely. However, he manages to do just enough to avoid danger. 28' Rakip concedes a free-kick on the left wing, bringing down Diego Carlos. Machado with the cross but Moustapha heads it away for a corner. 26' Zuiverloon plays Narzary through on goal and right when the winger was about to take the shot, the referee calls off-side. 25' Now Kerala get a free-kick after Souvik brings down Narzary in Kerala's attacking half. Cido plays a threatening ball into the box and finds Ogbeche, who fails to find the target. 23' Rakip concedes a free-kick in the Kerala half. Machado plays a dangerous ball into the box from the resulting free-kick. Mumbai manage to get head the ball towards the goal but Bilal saves it. 21' A nervy moment for Bilal now. Jairo plays a back pass to the goalkeeper, who is quickly pressed down by Chermiti. Bilal struggles but manages to get the ball back to Jairo. 20' Mumbai create nothing out of the corner and Zuiverloon plays a through pass to Prasanth with the hopes of starting a counter attack. However, the pass is too strong for the Malayali winger to get on the end of. 19' Blastes give the ball yet again and Diego Carlos runs down the right flank and drives a shot on goal, forcing Bilal to make a save. Mumbai have a corner. 17' Ogbeche, who has been Blasters' most threatening player so far, gets the ball and tries to skip past the Mumbai centre-backs but is stopped by them. 16' Blasters are being very loose in the final third. Passes and crosses are not finding players and are going to waste instead. 14' Narzary gets the ball again and this time goes for a cross. However, he finds no one and the ball goes out for a goal-kick. 13' Zuiverloon plays a lovely diagonal ball to Narzary on the left-wing but the winger's following pass is disappointing. 10' Diego Carlos with some footwork in the right-wing and plays a cross into the Kerala box. Larbi gets on the end of the cross but heads wide. 9' Ogbeche with some lovely footwork in the attacking half and goes down just outside the penalty area. He appeals for a foul but the referee gives the decision against him in the end. 8' Apart from the first attack, Kerala have been quiet so far and it is Mumbai who have been enjoying more of the ball so far. 6' Bose plays a long cross from near the centre line into the Kerala box and Chermiti and Bilal go for it with neither getting the contact they want. However, the referee calls offside against Chermiti. 4' PENALTY SHOUT! Mumbai forward Chermiti goes down in the box and shouts for a penalty but the referee is not interested. 1' Kerala Blasters begin the game with a quick attack down the right flank but it comes to an end after Prasanth's tame shot is saved by Amrinder. 7:30PM: KICK-OFF! And we are underway with Kerala Blasters taking the first touch of the game. 7:25PM: The players are making their way to the ground and the Manjappada are buzzing as we get ready for kick-off here at the JLN Stadium, Kochi! 7:20PM: While Schattorie has kept his squad largely unchanged, Spanish midfielder Mario Arques has missed out on the matchday squad with an injury. It is Indian defender Pritam Kumar Singh who takes his position on the bench. 7:15PM: And it has started raining here guys! With just 15 minutes to go for kick-off, it looks we are going to have another game in the rain. 7:10PM: Back to Mumbai City FC now. While they have retained manager Jorge Costa for this season, their starting lineup consist of six new players. All foreigners except Paulo Machado are new arrivals and so are Rowllin Borges and Sarthak Golui. 7:05PM: The lineups are being announced in the stadium right now and each of the Kerala Blasters players receives a cheer from the crowd. However, you guessed it right, Sahal Abdul Samad gets the biggest pop! 7:00PM: Mumbai City FC are beginning their campaign today and there are a few new faces in the Islanders' squad. Grgic, Chermiti, Larbi, Machado and Diego Carlos are the foreigners starting for Jorge Costa's side today. Modou Sougou, their top scorer last season, misses out on the starting lineup and is named on the bench. 6:55PM: Eelco Schattorie has named an unchanged Kerala Blasters lineup and it is the same as what we saw against ATK four days ago. Indian international and fan-favourite Sahal Abdul Samad is still on the substitutes bench and the fans will be upset with that. 6:50PM: Unlike the last game, it is not raining here in Kochi today despite the city see rains in the last few days. I would also like to point out that the attendance in the stadium is not quite like how it was last Sunday, with a lot of seats still empty. Will the Manjappada fill them by the time of kick-off? We'll have to see! 6:45PM: The players of the both teams come out to warm-up and the Kerala Blasters players are received with a huge reception from the fans gathered in the stadium. 6:40 PM: Here are the starting lineups for the game! Kerala Blasters: Bilal (GK), Rakip, Zuiverloon, Rodrigues, Carneiro, Moustapha, Jeakson, Cidoncha, Prasanth K, Narzary, Ogbeche (C). Subs: Shibinraj, Raju, Rahul, Sahal, Pritam Singh, Samuel, Messi Bouli. Mumbai City FC: Amrinder (GK) (C), Golui, Souvik, Grgic, Bose, Borges, Larbi, Machado, Raynier, Carlos, Chermiti. Subs: Ravi Kumar, Pratik, Rafique, Surchandra, Sougou, Bipin Singh, Serge Kevyn.

6:30 PM: Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the live commentary of the Hero Indian Super League match between Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi. This is your host Dakir Thanveer. Please stick with us for the live updates for the game.

Welcome to ISL 2019-20 Kerala Blasters vs Mumbai City FC live commentary of Khel Now, where we will bring you all the live action from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

FC Goa Vs Chennaiyin FC Kick-Off: 7:30 PM IST.

To read the match preview, click here.

To read the pre-match press conferences of the game, click here and here.

Jorge Costa revealed that he was not surprised with Blasters winning the season opener

“New players, new coach, so we cannot compare this team with the team from last season,” Costa opined.

“Of course, we watched the game, we studied the team. About the game, it was the first game of the season. It was not a wonderful game, but it was a very good game,” he added.

“For me, it was the first time I watched Kerala play, but it was not a surprise. I know all the players before, I know this coach because he was here last season. So, it was not a surprise,” Jorge Costa quipped.

Eelco Schattorie wary of the visitors

“I think in Mumbai, the playing style is clear for me. Most coaches have a certain style, they adapt, maybe the system changes a little bit. But, I’m sure this coach looks for quick play on the counter, but how the positions are filled in and which qualities of the players that will play, that is always a question mark if you don’t have any chance to see their games,” the coach said.