Goa : ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC would be face to face against each other in the Hero Indian Super League final on Saturday at the Fatorda. With everything to play for both the side would be aiming to grab the prestigious trophy for the first time in their history.
ATKMB has been a new club which debut in the Hero ISL this season after the much talked about merger between ATK and Mohun Bagan AC in June 2020. They certainly played good football throughout the season but lost the league’s top spot to Mumbai in the final day of the group league.
They have got players like Roy Krishna, David Williams, Manvir Singh who can fire up against any opponent as everyone has witnessed throughout the league. Their defence have conceded the least no. of goals in the season and has attained the most no. of clean sheets throughout the season. They do have the knack to making things big on their DNA and they can certainly challenge the big Mumbai boys.
Coach Antonio Lopez Habas who has won two ISL trophies previously said this in the pre-match press conference, “We have to compete and our idea is to win against our opponents. My team is prepared for winning.”
He further added, “We have to analyse the match and control (our chances of) victory than (try to) control the way they play. The opponent will play and maybe, we will have difficulties.”
Mumbai on the other hand has been much clinical throughout the season with their performance. They had a bad patch in the middle of the season but ended the league strongly by winning the league winners shield in the final group league match against their very opponent whom they are going to face in the final.
Players like Adam Le Fondre, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Hugo Boumous, Mourtada Fall, Bipin Singh would be looking to make two out of two this season and certainly they will have the cutting edge over the Mariners whom they have already beaten twice in the league.
Mumbai coach Sergio Lobera said, “They (ATK Mohun Bagan) are a very good team with good players and have the momentum. But the most important thing now is to put the focus on ourselves and try to do our best. We have no specific plan, only small details about the opponent. We need to work 100 percent on our style of play.”
