New Delhi, April 25 Within a span of two weeks, Mumbai City FC went from losing 0-5 in the Indian Super League (ISL) Playoffs against Bengaluru FC to slotting four goals past Chennaiyin FC to book their spot in the quarterfinals of the Kalinga Super Cup, where they will take on Inter Kashi. Mumbai had a lacklustre season throughout the 2024-25 campaign, after having entered as defending champions, but were not up to their typical dangerous attacking self.
Despite boasting an amazing defensive record which saw the Islanders end with the third least conceded goals this season, they only found the back of the net 29 times which was the lowest goal tally of a top-six team this season.
In an interaction with IANS, Lallianzuala Chhangte, who scored a brace in the opening game, revealed how the side learned from their mistakes and have started the Super Cup in the correct manner.
“We've learned from our mistakes, and it was an experience that will give us a different
perspective and that will build us as better human beings and better footballers. I want to learn from that experience. Going forward to the last match, Super Cup, I am really happy with how we performed as a team, not only as an individual, because when you see our squad, there are so many injuries inside the team and you can see we have only two foreign players available right now, like in the first match.
“But I am really happy the players who came in to fill the space fully did their job because the Super Cup is just do or die. If you lose, you are gone. So everyone knows that, and we are fully focused, and I think this is a good start. We are already focused on the next final against Inter Kashi,” Chhangte told IANS.
In just two years since they entered the I-League, Inter Kashi FC have certainly made a name for themselves. Under the leadership of Antonio Lopez Habas, the most successful coach in ISL history, they almost secured a qualification to the ISL but finished second in their I-League 2024-25 campaign.
They followed it with an incredible outing in the Round of 16 by defeating ISL runners-up Bengaluru FC via penalty shootouts. Chhangte remained adamant that they will not be underestimating Sunday’s opponents.
“It doesn't matter who we are playing against, an elite team or a team in the ISL. It doesn't matter. Our approach is still the same, and Inter Kashi are a very good team, if not the best. They are one of the best teams in the I-League. So we are not underestimating them. We respect them fully, but of course, every team has their strengths and weaknesses, right?
“So we have to focus on what we can do, on where we can, you know, make them suffer. I feel it's more important to focus on our team than our opponents. So that is exactly what we are doing. We are fully recovered now, and we are ready to take the battles,” he added.
After having been eliminated in the manner they were, Chhangte described Mumbai’s performance against Chennai as beautiful and claimed the game against Kashi will be even more difficult than their first game.
"After our last match in the ISL, we have not had a day off yet. I mean, yeah, we have our recovery days. We have been working really, really hard, and you can see that in the last match, how lively we were, how energetic we were and how we fought as a team was beautiful, and I hope all the players, not only the young players, continue their mindset.
“Because right now, some people might think that, oh, they're playing against an I-League team, you know, the approach that we had before has to continue in the next match, regardless of who we are playing. And we can't be, you know, complacent. We can't think that it's going to be easy. No, it's going to be more difficult than the first match. I guarantee that. So we have to be fully focused,” he concluded.
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