AFC Champions League: Mumbai City end campaign winless

Mumbai City ended their AFC Champions League 2023-24 campaign without a win as Navbahor came back to defeat the Islanders at home on Monday. This was the final campaign for any Indian club in the AFC Champions League.

The Islanders started brightly, showcasing intent to control the proceedings and make inroads into the Navbahor defense.

Few minutes later, Mumbai City FC finally managed to get a breakthrough. Greg Stewart delivered an immaculately weighted ball into the box, where Pereyra Diaz's header hit the left post. Opportunistically, El Khayati was perfectly positioned to tap home, opening the scoring for Mumbai and marking their first goal of their ACL campaign.

Couple of minutes later, Akash Mishra won the ball on the wings, delivering a dangerous cross into the far post. Vikram Singh nearly capitalized on the opportunity, but the Navbahor defense cleared the threat just in time.

However, Navbahor managed to level the score around the half hour mark. Akash Mishra's foul outside the box earned him a yellow card, and from the resulting free-kick, Jamshid Iskanderov curled the ball over the wall, finding the top right corner and bringing the score to 1-1.

In the final minute of the first half, Navbahor seized the advantage after a series of corners. Jamshid's delivery eluded everyone, finding Jovan Dokic, who clinically shot past the keeper, making it 2-1 in favor of Navbahor.

Early in the second half, Akash Mishra, eager to contribute from the flank, received the ball on the byline. However, his subsequent cross sailed over its intended target, missing the opportunity. Mumbai quickly regrouped, launching a counter-attack led by Jorge Pereyra Diaz, who found Greg on the wings. Greg made a penetrating run into the box, but the final cutback was adeptly cleared by the resilient Navbahor defense.

Navbahor, keen on extending their lead, nearly succeeded minutes later, when Luka Cermelj's right-footed shot from outside the box, narrowly missed the right goalpost.

Mumbai, however, continued their offensive push, with Greg threading a ball into the Navbahor box finding Vikram, who managed to win a corner. The resulting corner from Greg Stewart set the stage for Diaz's involvement at the far post, delivering a cross that Tiri headed just over the bar.

In the 83rd minute, Vinit Rai and Jayesh Rane entered the fray, replacing Akash Mishra and Apuia, adding more attacking options for Mumbai. The late stages of the game witnessed a flurry of attempts. Diaz laid off a ball for Greg Stewart inside the box, whose shot from close range was blocked. Bipin, with a brilliant run, cut inside and found Rane, but the shot from a tight angle was saved by the keeper.

In the final seconds of the game Mumbai make a desperate attempt into find the equalizer but failed to find one as the referee blows the final whistle.