Mumbai City and Anelka show flashes of brilliance but there's still work to be done

Mumbai: Mumbai City FC may have won all their four friendlies before their Indian Super League opener against Atletico de Kolkata — including scoring 17 goals — but 12 of those came against Union Bank and DSK Shivajians, with the team failing to produce the same flair against tougher opposition like Air India and ONGC. While the scores against Union Bank and Shivajians were an impressive 6-0 and 6-1 respectively, Mumbai managed to just edge past Air India (3-2) and ONGC (2-1) — clubs which tested them physically as well as tactically. However, this can also be because Mumbai didn’t play their best XI in any of the matches — with manager Peter Reid opting to give a run-out to every player on his roster. Against ONGC though, Reid had to contend with his team defensively switching off at times. In a match which saw more than it’s share of robust challenges and flying tackles, Mumbai dominated parts thanks to Anelka being given a free role — but communication gaps and tactical understanding on the pitch — two issues which every new team faces initially — were clearly hampering their stride. [caption id=“attachment_1747183” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Anelka and Tiago during a friendly match. AFP[/caption] Anelka was often left asking for the ball into his feet and was offside three times in the first 30 minutes of the match. Once he got into the game though, Mumbai managed to get in behind the ONGC defence numerous times with the Frenchman spraying passes for the wingers to cut inside onto. Mumbai looked solid in defensive midfield with Jan Štohanzl and Johan Letzelter simply brilliant when in possession of the ball. But changes at halftime meant Mumbai were pressed harder after taking a 1-0 lead through a Lalrindika Ralte screamer from 25 yards out. ONGC came all guns blazing and dominated from 45-60 minutes and had a few chances which would have even seen them win the game — goalkeeper Andre Matos producing some fine saves to keep them at bay. Pavel Cmovs, who was marshalling the defence along with Peter Costa, concurred the observation after the match: “Mumbai are getting better with every match but we need more tactical work,” said the giant midfielder from Czech Republic. Syed Rahim Nabi went one step further, explaining why Mumbai looked slightly taken aback by the challenge ONGC provided: “Before the match we were slightly afraid of facing them. They’ve been our best opponents so far and there was a pressure to perform.” With Nicolas Anelka serving a ban and Freddie Ljungberg suffering from a calf injury, Mumbai will be without their star forward and may be without their marquee player in Kolkata — where it won’t just be pressure — Salt Lake Stadium goes a step beyond — it’s a boiler with boisterous football mad fans who cannot wait to see their newest team take to the most glamorous football league the country has witnessed. It just gets harder from here.