Mumbai: In a recent interview to an English daily, former Brazil legend Ronaldo revealed that he slept more often with Roberto Carlos than with women. The duo – whose limbs wrote poetry on the football field - hoodwinked all opponents. Carlos – now the head coach of Delhi Dynamos – tasted a slice of his own past, of partnerships and set pieces when Mumbai City FC outplayed his team 2-0 here at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday.
No, it wasn’t a Brazilian nor an Argentine who called the shots. Rather, it was an Indo-Haiti alliance comprising star striker Sunil Chhetri – who scored a brace, his first success in the league – and Sony Norde.
Norde, who turned out to be a sensation in the east for Mohun Bagan, found his mojo from the onset. He kept a close eye on the open flanks and passed diligently, tackled smartly.
Mumbai’s body language reflected Oscar Bruzon’s tough words to the media ahead of the tie. They were aggressive, to such an extent, that they ended up receiving five yellow cards.
Though it was Florent Malouda (Delhi) who tried drawing first blood from a distance, five minutes into the match; it was Chhetri who opened the goal gate.
Norde received the ball after Francisco Fernandes and Robin Singh’s communication failure. Delhi defender Anas Edathodika blocked Norde’s shot but he ended up creating a sitter for Chhetri who found the net in the 13th minute. It was his first goal in the Indian Super League.
(Photos: DC/Rajesh Jadhav)
Since the first goal, Mumbai became even more aggressive and attacking with Norde creating chances throughout the first half. For Delhi, Malouda had a couple of situations too but he could not convert. Once, the shot went and kissed the advertisement hoardings and on the other occasion, his poor first touch could not outdo Subrata Paul.
Edathodika was a disappointing factor for the Delhi franchise. He acted out of character and fell prey to Norde’s tactics. Nonetheless, it was a dream match for Chhetri who could not hold his excitement after doubling the lead in the 74th minute.
Anas, once again, could not clear the ball in time and found Norde on the left who crossed it over to Chhetri.
Nicolas Anelka, Mumbai head coach, made five changes to the squad that lost to Chennaiyin FC. Ashutosh Mehta, Frederic Piquionne, Selim Benachour, Pratesh Shorodkar and Franz Bertin were benched. The inclusion of Aitor Lopez, Juan Aguilera, Subhash Singh, Gabriel Fernandes and Darren O’ Dea was an example of Anelka’s master stroke.
Carlos, on the other hand, stuck to the same combination. With the win, Mumbai is still in the seventh spot but have earned four points.
