Bipin Singh’s brilliance once again denies Mohun Bagan a super giant as Mumbai City FC completes 3-1 comeback win to clinch second ISL title football news

Bipin Singh once again troubled Mohun Bagan as Mumbai City FC rode the midfielder’s strike to seal an impressive 3-1 win and clinch the ISL title for the second time in front of a packed Salt Lake Stadium crowd in Kolkata. Saturday. In front of a 62,007-strong crowd, the home team took the lead at the start of half-time with a strike from Jason Cummings (44th). But the Islanders leveled the scores when Jorge Pereyra Diaz (53rd) silenced the crowd with a brilliant direct pass from midfield to Alberto Noguera.

Their moment of reckoning came in the 81st minute when Bipin came off the bench to score the decisive second goal to help give Mumbai the lead.

It was Bipin’s 90th-minute strike that helped Mumbai City FC win their first title in 2020-21 as they overturned a similar 1-0 lead to beat Mohun Bagan 2-1.

Nine minutes were added to the second half, and Mohun Bagan had enough time to equalise, but their forwards lacked substance and the Islanders put the final nail in the coffin with a goal by substitute Jakub Wojtas in the 90th and 7th minutes.

It also ended Mohun Bagan’s dream of becoming the first team to defend the ISL Cup and complete a rare double of winning the League Winners Shield and the title.

Sergio Lobera-coached Mumbai City FC achieved a rare feat in their memorable 2020-21 season.

But it was not a day for Mohun Bagan’s astute 66-year-old Spaniard tactician Antonio Lopez Habas, who appeared in a record fourth ISL final.

When the Islanders failed to defend the Shield three weeks later, losing 1–2 to the same team at the same venue, the Petr Kratky-coached team performed much better from the start.

They controlled possession and launched a flurry of attacks with Lallianzuala Changte also hitting the post twice in the first half hour of play.

In the 30th minute, Chhangte took a freekick from an angle when it went past Vishal Kaith, but bounced off the crossbar.

A few minutes later, Changte received a through ball and fired it past Subhashish Bose.

Instead of shooting, he passed it back into the six-yard box, but there was no Mumbai man to tap the ball.

The defence, led by Kaith and Subhashish Bose, remained under pressure while dealing with Mumbai’s attacking threats.

Suddenly Mohun Bagan heated up the atmosphere by taking the lead.

Liston Colaco played a perfect pass to Dimitri Petratos, who fired home a thunderous strike from 40 yards, but Lachenpai fired it back into the six yard box in a poor goalkeeping effort.

When the time came, Mohun Bagan’s main marksman Jason Cummings came into action and he caught the loose ball and calmly fired the ball past Phurba Lachenpa with his smooth left foot.

But this lead did not last long and Mumbai equalized soon after the break.

Special mention should be made of Spaniard Alberto Noguera for his pinpoint accuracy in delivering a brilliant pass straight into the box from midfield.

This caused trouble for Mohun Bagan’s defense as the Argentinian forward took advantage of the opportunity and easily dismissed Manvir Singh without Anwar Ali. With a deft touch of the left foot, Diaz calmly passed the ball to Kath, who extended his left leg in a desperate attempt to make the save, but to no avail.

Three years after scoring the winner in the closed-door final in Margao, Bipin once again made the difference after coming on to replace Noguera in the 69th minute.

Chhangte beat Johnny Cowco and took a weak shot, but Bipin’s second effort bounced off Hector Yuste and into the net, giving the deciding goal.

Jacob took advantage of Bipin’s hold-up play, received the ball and calmly passed it to Vikram Pratap Singh, who set up Bipin for a shot blocked by Anwar.

However, Jacobs pounced on the rebound and fired over the fallen defender to seal the issue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)