Mumbai City vs Kerala Blasters Highlights, ISL 2023-24: MCFC 2-1 KBFC at FT; Two clubs with Indian Super League title ambitions are squaring off as Mumbai City host Kerala Blasters at their home turf Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday (October 8). Find match timeline below:


That's all from our Live coverage as goals from Jorge Diaz and Apuia Ralte seal the win for Mumbai City at home despite a second-half equaliser by Danish Farooq, who scored his first goal for KBFC in ISL! The Indian top-tier league goes on a 13-day break now as the national team will head to Malaysia to play the Merdeka Cup!

A dramatic and unwanted to a match that saw Mumbai City dominate and take all three points. However, the post-match brawl left a bad taste in the mouth of the Indian fans, who would have preferred some good quality football. The last 10 minutes of the game was less about football and more about men acting like boys. The bottom line, however, is Mumbai City remain unbeaten with two wins and a draw in three games while KBFC lose their first match of the season.

The referee finally blows the final whistle after allowing 17 minutes of added time! Kerala Blasters players are not happy as they are getting into an argument with his after the whistle! But nothing changes, it's Mumbai City 2-1 at full time!

Red cards for both sides in Drincic and Van Nieff while Prabir Das sees a yellow card. The referee will make up for the lost time by continuing play as both sides are down to 10!

90+12' This is not looking good! Drincic comes rushing in and pushes Mehtab from behind after the Mumbai defender roughly tackle Rahul KP. The players soon break into a fight with Prabir Das and Van Nieff in aggression. The referee has lost the control of the match and cards are the only way to bring it back in his hand!
90+10' A late corner for Mumbai and El Khayati is taking his sweet time to take it. The referee is having none of it as he books the Mumbai player!

90+9' MCFC's Gurkirat gets into a heated argument with Sandeep with other players also joining in but the referee soon intervened and yellow carded both the players!
90+7' The Kerala Blasters midfielder makes a late challenge on Van Nieff as Mumbai were looking to counter and is duly booked. Nothing is working for KBFC forward line at the moment as MCFC are closing gaps quickly at the back!
90+5' El Khayati wins a corner from an attack that lacked intensity as MCFC are clearly playing for the final whistle!
90+3' Luna goes for a lofted ball to the far post instead of going direct! His teammate, however, couldn't reach the ball as it was hit too long and out for a goalkick!
90+2' It's some 30 yards from the goal and Adrian Luna is the obvious choice to take it!
90+1' The added time is followed by a loud cheer from the stands, confirming that Kerala Blasters fans came in larger numbers than the fans! KBFC need all the support they can for the equaliser
84' Should have been 3-1 for City as Griffiths heads in the corner by Van Nieff! But Aimen remained steady to head the ball out of defense to keep KBFC in the game! Meanwhile a change by Kerala Blasters! Upcoming star Rahul KP comes in for Aiban, can he spark an equaliser for KBFC?

82' The Uruguayan sees yellow card for time wasting as he is down on the pitch for too long for a collision. He is soon taken off and replaced with defender Tiri. Akash Mishra comes off as well and is replaced by Gurkirat Singh. Meanwhile Mumbai City FC have a corner to take!
79' The latest corner by Luna wasn't cleared properly by Purbha as it went back to Luna, who delivered a dangerous cross at near post! Peprah jumps the tallest to meet his head with the ball but lacked the accuracy to change the scoreline. Meanwhile MCFC make a change as Lallinzual Chhangte is taken off for Vikram Pratap Singh on the right wing
78' KBFC are doing so through set pieces as they won an indirect freekick followed by a corner.
76' The referee halts the play for the drinks break as Kerala Blasters are struggling to create opportunities. Could be because the newly-in players are yet to get going
71' Danish Farooq and Daishuke are taken off for Aimen and Peprah! Meanwhile, Mumbai City FC win a corner

68' Pritam Kotal go it all wrong in his new role as centre-back as a looping loose ball into the box was not cleared by the defender as he though it will bounce to the keeeper. Ralte, however, never stopped tracking the ball and made a diving header into the goal before Sachin could reach it. Meanwhile a change by MCFC as El Khayati comes on for Greg Stewart as first sub for MCFC!
66' A costly defensive error by Kerala Blasters and Apuia Ralte heads it in from close range to make it 2-1 for Mumbai City FC again!
63' Kerala Blasters look much better with the ball now as they attack with more purpose and look more cohesive with their movement forward! City, however, still enjoy the bulk of possession at 63%

58' The goal comes after Mumbai City lost the ball in the defensive third for Prabir Das to run free from the left flank and send in a cross. Danish made a surprise run into the box and head it in from close range as MCFC center-back Mehtab didn't see the midfielder running for the goal! However, replays reveal that Luna slapped Bheke on his face before the ball was played clear for Prabir to run! MCFC fans must be feeling cheated there
Danish Farooq heads it in from close range to make it 1-1!
52' A direct approach in the attack by Mumbai City as a diagonal ball from the back finds Bipin with acres of space to run into and send in an early cross! Sachin, however, comes off his line to palm the ball away from the box!
50' Midfielder Dricic spots the overlapping run of Sandeep on the right flank and plays him through! However, Griffiths tracks down Sandeep well and deflected his cross out for a corner. The resulting corner was dealt away with comfortably by Mumbai defense!
47' That should have been 2-0! Griffith beats Freddy to the far post to reach the perfect corner delivery by Stewart but the Australian hits the ball on the volley off target!

46'A change at the break by KBFC as Freddy comes in for Jeakson Singh, who probably is down after hurting himself for a challenge on Stewart! Meanwhile Mumbai City win an early corner!

Clear from the stats, MCFC dominated the proceedings and had three shots on target as well, including the one converted by Diaz. KBFC, on the other hand, are yet to worry Phurba with a shot on target! Adrian Luna and Daishuke are yet to build an understanding while Diamantakos was an isolated figure in the attack for most part of the first half! The second half to begin soon!
It appeared to be a half where Mumbai City, despite looking superior than their opponent, couldn't find the goal as KBFC kept things tight at the box. However, luck favoured MCFC before the half time as Sachin Suresh's goalkeeping error allowed Jorge Diaz to score third goal of ISL 2023-24!

The referee blows the half-time whistle as there was no time for KBFC to mount an attack for a late equaliser! Meanwhile Diamantakos is not too pleased with the refereeing during the goal and is having an argument with the official
Both teams have played two matches so far in build-up to the mouth-watering clash. Kerala Blasters have the winning momentum as they won both their last games and have six points added to their tally while Mumbai City FC just settled for a 2-2 draw against Odisha FC in Bhubaneswar.
Des Buckingham-led side in fact are playing their first match at home in ISL 2023-24 as they played their opening match against NorthEast United in Guwahati, winning he match 2-1. KBFC, on the other hand, have played both their matches at home in Kochi, winning 2-1 against fellow southern rivals Bengaluru FC 2-1, followed by 1-0 win over Jamshedpur FC.
Adrian Luna remains the perennial star of the Kerala Blasters as he scored in both games while the third goal came through an own-goal. Mumbai City's Uruguayan striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz also has two goals to his name in two ISL 2023-24 matches this season while Rosthyn Griffith also has a goal to his name in the last week's draw.
Mumbai City FC's key players have been their two wingers Lalinzuala Chhangte and Bipin Singh. Lalinzuala, in particular, is the side's crown jewel as one of the leading footballers from the national team while centre-back Mehtab Singh and left-back Akash Mishra are further international presence and key components in the defense guarded by Phurba Lachenpa.
For Kerala Blasters, Dimitrios Diamantakos needs to find his goal-scoring form as Luna is primarily tasked with the role of provider while the return of Rahul KP after international duty at the Asian Games 2023 is much awaited. Pritam Kotal is finding himself in a new role as centre back with Prabir Das as leading right-back! Danish Farooq is among the players to watch-out for the season as the young midfielder impressed with his workrate during the preseason.