PRE-MATCH QUIPS: Molina says ATK will capitalize on Mumbai's poor run; Guimaraes: We have shown how good we can be

Mumbai are coming into the game with a loss in the last game and ATK are unbeaten so far in the tournament.

Both team Coaches were speaking to the press ahead of the game. Molina on Mumbai's form said,

“Of course, it is a good chance to get three points and this is what we want but I know they didn’t have a few good results in the last few games and we played against them two weeks ago and it was a tough game and we could have lost that game in the first half with the way they played and we have had only three matches with more than one goal and it is really difficult to win and we have to be very clear in our mind that we want to win tomorrow and that we will have to work hard to win”

Guimaraes said he did not see ATK's last victory against Delhi as a particularly good performance said,

“If Delhi Dynamos FC had converted the penalty here, it would have been a different situation. But this is football after which Atlético de Kolkata won a penalty and they won the game. We know we are going to play one of the strongest contenders of the league but we have showed how good we can be. I hope tomorrow we play the right game and be competitive to win here and get the points. So I feel it is going to be a good game,”

Molina,asked to speak about his opponents in the next game said,

“I think that they are a strong team and they have very good defenders and a good goalkeeper with fast and attacking strikers and their midfielders also work very hard and there are some players with good individual skills but football is a team sport and it is the team which has the power and not one or two players.”

Guimaraes, on the last meeting they had with ATK at home, where the result was a draw, recollected,

"We played our game against Atlético de Kolkata in Mumbai which was good but not enough. We had to play about 30 minutes with 10 men which was an advantage to them. So I think the draw was okay. I think tomorrow it will be tw"o teams that have a very clear identity. We will have a good game to watch tomorrow. Both teams are in the top 4 right now, so it’s a good reason to come and watch the game.”

ATK Coach Molina, on a question about the threat Forlan possesses replied,

“Forlan is dangerous. Yes, we do have a plan for him of course but we got to concentrate on their other players as well like Defederico and Norde as both of them are different players and can do something different so that is our plan and we will try to defend well as a team and defending does not mean just four defenders, it is the whole team that has to defend together, try to press up when we want to and come back and defend when required, and we have been working on this from the start but yes sometimes we do make some mistakes but I am happy with the way the team is defending and of course tomorrow in the match, we have to defend well as they have brilliant strikers and if we have a lot of possession then we don’t need to defend a lot,”

Commenting on Forlan's performance of the last game, the Mumbai City Head Coach said,

"Yes, of course I am satisfied. He has helped us to win the first two games. He missed three games after that. Even in the last game, he helped us with his movements, helped us penetrate the opponent defence. He is also fulfilling his role as a marquee player. He is open to teaching the local players. He is a winner and doesn’t like to lose. He was upset about the result against FC Goa. So we hope he does his best to score tomorrow,”

Talking about marquees, Helder Postiga who has been missing since a couple of games say he might appear on the bench tonight. Molina further,

"I don’t know as we will have to see and I will know more only after the training session which we have now and yesterday he did train with the team but he has had fifteen days without playing or training so maybe we can put him on the bench"

Answering a query on the problem if he saw that Mumbai have not been able to score a lot of goals, replied,

“I don’t agree. We have scored almost against all the teams and we have created chances so I am not really worried about this because we are creating opportunities and we have shown that we play an attacking game like Kolkata and we create chances… But of course I am not satisfied and I think we have to play a little bit better to have a bit more confidence"

On the same lines of scoring,striker Ian Hume has scored just so far in the league, Molina also didn't see this as a problem and went on to say,

“I think our strikers are playing very well. Helder Postiga played very well in first two matches. Agreed my strikers haven’t scored too many goals and Iain Hume has only scored from the penalty spot. But he has created a lot of chances. It is important to create chances to score. I would not worry about my strikers as they are creating chances to score and any moment they will score. Their movement on the pitch is very good and we are working on the last touch, to finish off such moves and keep improving.”

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