The DY Patil Stadium saw Al Hilal defeat Indian champions Mumbai City 2-0 in their AFC Champions League group stage fixture. The Islanders finished a man light with Mehtab Singh shown a red card nine minutes into the second half, which made things easier for the visitors to open the scoring.Â
The game was always going to be played on the back foot for the hosts, who did well to keep a clean sheet for the first half. They had a few opportunities to create something meaningful, but could not find their way around Al Hilal’s backline to make anything out of it.
Al Hilal vs Mumbai City FC: Mitrovic and Michael score to earn comfortable winÂ
Al Hilal captain Salem missed a sitter early in the second half, after a good passage of play inside the box. But shortly after, Singh was sent off for a last-ditch tackle on Ruben Neves to pile up the odds further against them.
Michael found the back of the net with a powerful header only minutes after Mumbai were reduced to 10 men. The visitors kept the ball for most of the game, and were in control even when they lost it, with no counter attacks being conjured due to their tight marking.
Finally, Aleksandar Mitrovic scored late in the game to silence the Navi Mumbai crowd from a set piece and take all three points in the process.
Following the defeat, Mumbai City FC are rock bottom of their group with no points from four games, ending their hopes of making it to the next round. Al Hilal, on the other hand, are at the top with 10 points.
