Indian Super League as it happened: Delhi Dynamos 4-1 Mumbai City FC

Click here for live sores and updates of this match . Delhi: After four games without a goal, Mumbai City FC would look to end their goal drought and get back to winning ways when they take on Delhi Dynamos at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday. The team have had a roller-coaster ride so far in the tournament — after three losses in first four matches, they hit back to win two on the trot and after a string of three goalless draws, they were comprehensively beaten by Chennaiyin FC 3-0. Clearly they have a lot to worry about before the crucial match against Delhi — they are finding it hard to score goals and their solid defense - which had kept five consecutive cleansheets - leaked three goals against Chennaiyin in the last match. Two of these were due to major defensive errors. With every team still having a chance of making it to the semi-finals with four games to go, the competition has increased drastically. Every match is crucial. Mumbai sit at seventh in the table. FC Goa, NorthEast United and Delhi Dynamos have revived their campaigns — making it even more important for Mumbai to start scoring. [caption id=“attachment_1826319” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Delhi celebrate their goal against NorthEast in their previous match. ISL[/caption] But that task has become more difficult as injuries have hit them at the wrong time. Key players Nicolas Anelka and Andre Moritz will miss the match due to injuries. The former has shown glimpses of his brilliance while Moritz is the only player to score a hat-trick in the ISL so far and has been their key player linking midfield and attack with his speed and creativity. Reid is visibly worried and concedes that it will be even more difficult to find the back of the net in the absence of Anelka and Moritz. “Scoring goals has been a problem. I have to change the objective of the team. If tomorrow night we go one down, I will change the game because we need points. However, it will be difficult for us because we are missing Anelka and Moritz who arguably are the best attacking players we have. So it is now up to somebody else to take the chance and that’s what we will be looking to do,” Reid said at the pre-match conference. Reid also said that they are working hard to get their finishing right but it only matters if they replicate it out in the middle. “At every training session, we have crossing, finishing and shooting sessions. Every single one. And the players in these sessions are good. But you need to carry it out in the middle. I will give you an analogy, in cricket, when you are doing well in the nets, hey great but you got to do it out in the middle, same goes with football.” Delhi Dynamos coach Harm van Veldhoven changed his tactics last time around which sparked their revival with a 2-1 away win over NorthEast United. Reid is wary of Veldhoven’s tactical acumen but the Mumbai City manager has got his own plans. “As much as I look at Delhi’s tactics, I respect them. We need to be positive. In this league to get that first goal is crucial. We will have a look at Delhi’s tactics and we will have tactics of our own, hopefully ours work above theirs.” Mumbai have a goal difference of -5, joint worse with Pune City FC and it’s a crucial parameter which may come into play in race for qualification for semis. So Mumbai City will have to maintain that balance between the attack and defense. It’s difficult to see where the goals will come from but there are chances that marquee player Freddie Ljungberg might get the start. Delhi still sit at the bottom of the table and every match is virtually a must-win match for them. They would be looking to carry forward the momentum. It was manager Veldhoven’s tactical masterclass that won them the last game. He did not start with an out-an-out striker and rather used the speed and creativity of Gustavo dos Santos, Francis Fernandes, and Shylo Malswamtluanga which worked wonders. Vendohoven had hinted after the last match that he might play Alessandro del Piero - who was benched against NorthEast United - against a more defensive side as he plays a bit high on the pitch. Hans Mulder has been a vital cog in Dynamos’ line-up controlling the midfield with his tremendous workrate and he will again be the key along with Santos who can rip through the opposition with his pace and score screamers. But the hosts have defensive issues with central defender Wim Raymaekers ruled out and Souvik Chakraborty suspended after receiving two bookings in the last match. They also have a couple of other injury concerns too with Bruno Arias and Shylo Malswamtluanga who are doubtful starters for the game. However, Veldhoven is confident ahead of the game. “We have our confidence. We know that we have possibilities to come close. We are all so close to each other. And, of course, you need a little bit of luck. But now at home we hope to give our supporters three points.” Delhi can also take confidence from the fact that Mumbai still haven’t won an away game. With both the teams looking to go all out for a win, we can expect a cracker.