Mumbai City FC lost 0-2 to Nassaji Mazandaran from Iran in Pune on Monday.© Twitter
Mumbai City FC started their AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign on a disappointing note as they suffered a 0-2 defeat to debutants Nassaji Mazandaran of Iran in Pune on Monday. Ehsan Hosseini (34th minute) and Mohammadreza Azadi (62nd) scored for the visiting team. Mumbai made a good start and almost opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Jorge Pereyra Diaz slipped the ball through to Lallianzuala Chhangte, who shot wide of the target from a tight angle. With 11 minutes left in the half, Nassanji took the lead. Hossein Zamehran won possession 20 yards from goal, the playmaker quickly turned and played in Ehsan Hosseini with a defensive pass, calmly slotting into the bottom corner of the net to give the Iranians the lead.
Bipin could have ensured Mumbai went into the break a minute into first-half stoppage time, only to fire away from goal after being found in space as Chhangte rolled the ball across goal.
The Iranian team rounded off the scoring when substitute Farshid Esmaeili robbed Akash Mishra deep in his penalty area and had the presence of mind to roll the ball into the six-yard box, leaving Azadi with the simplest finish.
Vikram Partap fired over goal and Chhangte looked wide as Mumbai looked for a late lifeline, but Nassaji was given nine minutes of extra time to taste victory in their first appearance in the AFC Champions League.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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