Mohun Bagan vs. Mumbai City FC, Durand Cup 2023: Mohun Bagan beat the Islanders 3-1 to set a date with FC Goa in the semis

Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated Mumbai City FC by 3-1 to enter the semi-finals of the Durand Cup 2023 after 2019. Jason Cummings put them ahead in the 9th minute from the penalty spot. Then, Mumbai City FC made a comeback via a Greg Stewart goal in the 28th minute but, Mohun Bagan again gained the lead via a Manvir Singh goal. Anwar Ali then scored a header in the second half to take Mohun Bagan in the semi-finals. They will face FC Goa in the semi-final on Thursday in Kolkata.

Mohun Bagan vs. Mumbai City FC | First Half

Mohan Bagan Super Giant received an early penalty kick in the seventh minute with Lachenpa coming out and fouling Jason Cummings. The Aussies striker did not make any mistake as he scored a perfect penalty to the right of the net to put Mohun Bagan 1-0 up in the 9th minute. Manvir Singh put a cross for Ashique Kuruniyan on the left whose delicious pass to Jason Cummings forced Lachenpa to come out of the box and slide in a dive. The dive resulted in a penalty for the Mariners.

Minutes after the goal, Ahsique Kuruniyan nearly provided another chance from the left but was tactically fouled by Rahul Bheke, his team India counterpart. Referee Venkatesh did not wait to bring his yellow card for the Indian defender. Despite conceding an early goal, Mumbai City FC is not the team to sit down and wait for Mohun Bagan to make a mistake. The Islanders tried to build up a game with Vipin Singh on the left, Chhangte on the right and Noguera and Stewart in the middle. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan kept on attacking with Ahsique doing his job from left providing a few great crosses towards Jason Cummings and Armando Sadiku.

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Pereyra Diaz equalised for Mumbai City FC, Manvir gave Mohun Bagan the lead again

In the 28th minute, Pereyra Diaz equalised from a beautiful ball from Alberto Noguera who received a great pass from Greg Stewart on the left. Somehow the Mohun Bagan defence looked clueless in the middle as Diaz could chest tap the ball for the ball. But, that lead could not last for long as Manvir Singh gave Mohun Bagan the lead just two minutes later. Hugo Boumous put the cross from left towards an unmarked Manvir Singh who jumped in the air to head the ball into the nets.

Both teams tried to play an end-to-end game with Mohun Bagan enjoying the most of the positions. Mehtab Singh and Rahul Bheke had to clear a few of the balls while Subhasish Bose and Hector Yuste came to the rescue of Moun Bagan.

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In the 40th minute, Apuia gave away a ball to Hugo Boumous who rolled the ball to Manvir. However, Manvir's shot took a deflection from Akash Mishra and saved Mumbai again. Two minutes later, the islanders had an opportunity via a free-kick just outside the box. But, Greg Stewart's shot went straight into the hands of Vishal Kaith. Just before the first-half whistle, Mumbai nearly created an opportunity with some magical turns on the right but failed to put in a cross due to Anirudh Thapa's block.

Mohun Bagan vs. Mumbai City FC | Second Half

Mumbai City FC started the second half with a huge change to strengthen their forward line. Des Buckingham replaced Akash Mishra with Vikram Pratap Singh. In the 55th minute, Mumbai City FC appealed for a penalty as Anwar Ali tackled Pereyra Diaz inside the box. Although the appeal was declined, Diaz was shown a yellow card for his verbal attack.

Anwar Ali does a Sergio Ramos again

In the 58th, Mohun Bagan came close to increasing the lead but Armando Sadiku shot it over the bar from a scoring position. Vikram Pratap Singh gave the ball to Ashique on the left who took a turn to go inside and gave the pass to Sadiku. Mohun Bagan's long vigil to increase the lead came to an end in the 63rd minute, as Anwar Ali's header gave them the 3-1 lead in front of a great crowd at Salt Lake Stadium. It was Ashique Kuruniyan again with the cross form right for Anwar Ali.

Post the goal, Mumbai City FC looked more desperate as Rostyn Griffiths came in for Alberto Noguera. Soon after, they were forced to make a change as Lachenpa was replaced by Mohammad Nawaz due to an injury to their No.1. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan replaced Jason Cummings with Liston Colaco to keep fresh legs on the field.

With ten minutes to go in the regulation time, Mumbai City FC kept believing to make a comeback in the match as Vikram Pratap Singh tried to find some space on the right. But, he was not on target from a large range to give hope to the Islanders. In the 87th minute, Prereyra Diaz missed an easy chance via a cross from substitute Gurkirat Singh. Unfortunately for them, he could not be on target from the middle of the box. Mumbai kept on trying but the Mariners were determined enough to qualify for the semis in front a sea of green and maroon fans.