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Bengaluru FC will aim to continue their winning run when they travel to face Mumbai City FC in the first leg of their semifinal tie in the Indian Super League at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday. The Blues, who qualified for the semifinals after winning 1-0 in the knockout clash against Kerala Blasters on Friday, will look to bring a lead back to the Kanteerava Stadium for the second leg, set to be played on Sunday.
“The last game was one of our best first-half performances. It was a great feeling to win, but that’s in the history books now. The focus is now on the next game,” said Blues’ Head Coach Grayson, speaking to the media ahead of the game.
Grayson’s side will play their first away game in over a month since last traveling to face ATK Mohun Bagan 30 days ago. Mumbai City, on the other hand, will look to get back to winning ways after losing their final two League stage games, including a 2-1 loss to Grayson’s men at the Fortress three weeks ago. The Englishman will hope that his side’s confidence and form, having scripted a nine-game winning run, will hold them in good stead going into Tuesday night’s clash.
“Mumbai City will be re-energized and ready after their break. But we have continuity, having played these games, and the boys are focused. So that is something that could be an advantage for us. We did well to beat them last time out, but what matters is how we handle the occasion on Tuesday,” Grayson opined.
Des Buckingham’s men have been a formidable force at home this season, losing only once in their 10 encounters and winning six times. The Islanders will be returning to action with renewed energy, nearly a fortnight on from their final game of the regular season, a 0-1 defeat at the hands of East Bengal FC.
“The difference in two-legged games comes down to who handles the pressure well. I want my team to enjoy what they are doing and not feel any regrets when coming off the pitch at the end of the two legs. The intention to win never changes and now we will look to win some silverware come the end of the season,” said Grayson.
The Blues will look to put a lid on the threat posed by a Mumbai City attack led by Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Greg Stewart. The trio have combined to score more than half of Mumbai City’s goals this season and will look to once again influence proceedings when the two teams meet on Tuesday night. Javi Hernandez will once again be the key orchestrator of Bengaluru FC’s gameplay with the Spaniard having scored six goals and provided five assists this season, both joint-highest in the Blues’ squad.
“It is important to make sure that we are in the tie going into the second leg at home. The intention will be to win, but if we concede, we need to keep our heads in the game and look to get what would be a better result,” Grayson mused.
Bengaluru FC have banked on goals from Sivasakthi Narayanan, who has scored six times, and Roy Krishna, who has five to his tally, but it was talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri who stepped up to score against Mumbai City when the two teams met last time in Bengaluru FC. Chhetri also scored the winner in the knockout tie against the Blasters. The form of Bengaluru FC’s attacking trio has left Grayson with a quandary concerning his selections for Tuesday’s fixture.
Kick-off between the two sides is scheduled for 7:30pm IST on Tuesday, and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports Network, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV.
