ISL Analysis | Refereeing blunder costs FC Goa the game as Mumbai City FC wins 2-1

FC Goa shines again but lacks physical endurance  

However, it left the visitors to solely rely on the likes of Ferran Corominas and Manuel Lanzarote’s individual abilities to make things happen up front, but as luck would have it, they hit the woodwork twice and, another time, some unacceptable refereeing prevented them a fair equalizer.

It all started quite similarly for Goa’s goalkeeper and skipper Laxmikant Kattimani, whose mistakes had almost cost them the game against Chennaiyin. Though Mumbai started the second-half on a stronger note, they weren’t close to breaking Goa’s organized defence, if not for Kattimani’s goalkeeping. The custodian played a short pass to Chinglensana Singh, who played it back to him seeing Everton Santos charging at him, but the sloppy skipper took ages to clear it, which led to the player sliding in to block the clearance and eventually deflecting the ball into the goal. The second goal, scored by Thiago Santos, had Kattimani responsible in a way as he left enough space between his legs for Santos to place it.

If Lobera wasn’t enough infuriated by his goalie, the refereeing blunder will surely leave his blood boiling, which brings us perhaps to the biggest talking point of the game- the wrongly ruled offside goal of FC Goa. FC Goa had arguably scored the goal of the tournament with a scintillating movement, in a manner similar to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Manuel Arana played a one-two with Edu Bedia at the edge of the box before putting Coro through another such one-touch pass which he finished, but the linesman got it wrong by a mile.

It wasn’t a game for Mumbai to win and many would agree to it. They were second best to everything and if not for some poor refereeing and luck, the result could have seen differently. The standout player in the game was, again, Manuel Lanzarote Bruno. FC Goa are tremendously fortunate to have the former Barcelona reserve player in their line-up - a player who possesses the ability to make things happen out of nothing.

Barring the fact that he couldn’t score a goal, he did everything perfect today. While the referee turning a blind eye to Mumbai City FC defence, who were fouling him at ever instance. The Spaniard exhibited his shooting prowess from distance and came dangerously close to claim a worldly goal. He didn’t keep the ball at his feet much, giving 52 passes in the total 60 touches he got during the whole game, but it was enough for him to shake the bar twice. The referee acknowledged only two of the fouls among the many he suffered and his corner kicks were bang on target. FC Goa would surely be disappointed by the result, but definitely not with their performance.