Despite the Iranian club being down to 10 men, MCFC couldn’t score in the second half. They will wrap up their campaign with a home game against Navbahor on Monday.
Mumbai City FC extended their losing streak in the AFC Champions League 2023-24 to five matches, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Iran’s Nassaji Mazandaran at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Tuesday.
Mohammadreza Azadi (14′) scored first, and then an own goal by Mumbai City FC’s Halen Nongtdu (32′) gave the home side a 2-0 lead in the first half. Despite being reduced to 10 men, the Iranian club defended the two-goal lead and secured their second win in the AFC Champions League out of five games.
Meanwhile, MCFC suffered their fifth loss in the AFC Champions League 2023-24, losing all five matches. The Indian football club has yet to score in the competition, despite putting in spirited efforts in their home games against Nassaji Mazandaran and table-toppers Al Hilal.
The top team from each group is assured a spot in the knockouts, along with three of the five best-placed runners-up from each zone. The Indian Super League side will face second-placed Navbahor in their final AFC Champions League Group D match on Monday.
Mumbai City found themselves on the back foot against Nassaji Mazandaran, conceding multiple corners in the first 10 minutes. The Iranian club capitalized on their strong start, securing the opening goal in the 14th minute with Mohammadreza Azadi’s strike from a tight angle into the left corner.
Defender Halen Nongtdu’s errant pass back to the goalkeeper resulted in an own goal for Mumbai City FC in the 32nd minute.
Rahul Bheke, Vinit Rai, and Bipin Singh from Mumbai City attempted long-range shots in an effort to score, but the scores remained unchanged at the half-time whistle.
After Nassaji Masandaran’s defender Amir Janmaleki received a red card in the 68th minute, Mumbai City earned a couple of corners. However, the Indian football club couldn’t capitalize on the setpieces and did not register a single shot at the goal.
Despite being a man down, the home side went for goals in the final minutes but could not add to their lead.
Mumbai City FC is making their second consecutive appearance in the Asian Champions League. In the previous season, they won two matches in their debut ACL campaign against Iraq’s Air Force Club but fell short of reaching the knockout stage.
