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It was early Diwali celebration for the Mumbai City FC team as they blanked FC Pune City 5-0 at the noisy DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday night.
The hosts had a perfect day with perfect recipe for success.
With the game being played on grass pitch, Mumbai City delivered on their promise and played some attractive and entertaining football.
Their vocal fans got behind the players even as the fast and hardworking Subhash Singh made all the forays that led to the Brazilian Andre Moritz scoring three goals.
Peter Reid, the coach, couldn't stop gushing about his striker's outstanding play. Moritz's clever moves also received loudest cheers and he, in turn, played to the gallery.
"It was a historic game for me as we won the first home match. Also, I did what I have been doing all my life, that is, playing football. I didn't do anything different," said the striker later.
Though they have language differences, as regards the relationship with his coach Moritz put it nicely, "when we are on the field, football is the language." The duo of Nadong Bhutia and Lalrindika Ralte too worked hard and it was disappointing not to see them score in an otherwise high scoring game.
The fans were in a boisterous mood and chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya could be heard throughout the evening. Reid remaked, "the fans were fantastic and they were really vocal and got behind the boys."
Mumbai City FC controlled the game, were a threat throughout, played compact football and scored quality goals. The final scoreline reflected that.
Image: Fredrik Ljungberg (in blue) and Bruno Cirillo in action during the Indian Super League match between Mumbai City Football Club and Pune City FC.
Photo: PTI