Mumbai City FC's matches against Kerala Blasters have always been dull affairs, with a total of four goals being scored in those games in the past. But on Saturday, a certain Diego Forlan scored a treble as the hosts thumped the Blasters 5-0 at the Mumbai Football Arena here to rise to the top of the table.
Mumbai had faced some flak, scoring only two goals at home this season. But they vanquished the demons with ease as they got ahead in the fifth minute courtesy a brilliant three-pass move which opened up the Kerala defence.
Sunil Chhetri received the ball 35 yards away from goal and passed it on to Argentinean Matias Defederico who managed to find Forlan with a lobbed pass and the Uruguayan smashed the ball past Blasters goalkeeper Graham Stack from a tight angle.
The home team could have easily been three up soon had Forlan's long ranger and Chhetri's cheeky back heel from a corner not been blocked by the yellow brigade.
However, the home fans didn't have to wait too long as Forlan brought back memories of the 2010 FIFA World Cup by curling in a free kick over the Kerala wall which beat a diving Stack at the first post in the 14th minute.
Chants of 'Diego, Diego' reverberated in the air as the Mumbai City FC loyals found their voice which left a sizeable number of visiting fans silent. Forlan returned the favour by testing Stack with another pile driver but the Kerala custodian managed to wrap his hands around the ball this time.
If the first half was about class, the second one spelt destruction for Kerala as the hosts added three more goals to take their goal difference to plus six.
Forlan scored the first hattrick of the season by calmly placing the ball in between Stacks's legs in the 63rd minute and then was substituted in the 67th minute. But that didn't give any respite to the Sachin Tendulkar-co-owned team as Brazilian Cafu and Romanian Lucian Goain made it 5-0.
Cafu scored a memorable maiden ISL goal by finding the right corner in the 69th minute with a venomous long ranger from outside the D and defender Goain placed the icing on the cake by heading in a corner four minutes later.
"Forlan has always been trying to stamp his class and he was unmatchable today (Saturday). When he plays like this, the pressure is taken off the team," Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes said.
The win left Mumbai with 19 points and now the franchise, which struggled to get into the last four in the past seasons, are favourites to make the play-offs before every other team.
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