Mumbai City FC salvaged a draw in the highly anticipated clash with FC Pune City in Mumbai on Friday, but the shared point was enough to put the visitors on equal footing with league leaders FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL).
The last time the sides met, in Pune, Mumbai were handed a 3-1 thrashing. Although Mumbai did better this time, even Nicolas Anelka, who started the match, could not find the net.
Mumbai’s leading goal scorer Sunil Chhetri, though available, did not take the field. The Indian skipper had arrived only in the morning, after India’s win over Guam on Thursday in Bangalore. “Yes I wanted to play Chhetri but he really worked hard against Guam and I did not want to the run the risk of injuring him with five games remaining in the tournament,” said Anelka.
“We had two penalties. Referees don’t want to give us penalties this season. They should have given us a chance,” he added.