On Monday, Mumbai City FC drew 0-0 with UAE’s Al Jazira FC in an AFC Champions League 2022 group stage encounter at the King Fahd International Stadium. Mumbai is level on four points with Al Jazira and Iraq’s Air Force Club, one point behind Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab football club.
MCFC, on the other hand, is third in Group B after losing 1-0 to Al Jazira in the first leg last week. The result also makes Mumbai City FC the first Indian club to win four points in the AFC Champions League. Last season, FC Goa earned three points from their group games.
With a critical second place on the line, both Mumbai City FC and Al Jazira attempted to keep the majority of the ball in the first 25 minutes. At the half-hour mark, Al Jazira threatened to score with Bruno’s shot from a cross, but it was saved by Mumbai City FC goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa.
The UAE football club came within a whisker of scoring twice on the stroke of half-time. Bruno took advantage of MCFC’s defensive blunder, but his effort went wide of the goal. Diaby took a close-range shot in additional time, but the Mumbai City FC goalie made another fantastic stop to hold the score 0-0 at halftime.
The second half was similarly coy, with neither side able to create chances. Bruno of Al Jazira had another chance to put his team ahead, but his shot went wide. Ahmed Jahouh of Mumbai City attempted a right-footed shot from outside the box in the 67th minute, but it sailed wide to the right of the goal.
From there, Mumbai City FC had a few good minutes. Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khasif easily blocked Vikram Singh’s attempt from the centre of the box. On the other end, Phurba Lachenpa used his goal-saving momentum from the first half to repeatedly deny Al Jazira.
In the dying seconds of the game, Mumbai City’s Diego Mauricio was through on goal but his effort was saved by Al Jazira’s goalkeeper. Despite the fact that both teams had nearly equal possession for the duration of the game. Al Jazira had six shots on goal, while Mumbai City only had one. In the early hours of Saturday, Mumbai City will meet table-toppers Al Shabab in their fifth group stage match.
