The players are happy & confident with a win as they take on Pune City tonight, says MCFC coach Guimaraes

MUMBAI CITY take on FC Pune City away from home in their third outing of ISL. Though they lost their opening match, a second game win at home has given the team confidence to do well.

Coach Alexandre Guimaraes at the pre-match press conference said,

"We know that our home game was very important because we have three games away, so the schedule is very tough for us; and we knew that we must do well in our home games. We managed to take the result and now we come here with different confidence. The players are happy, confident to come here and continue to try and improve our game. Pune had a fantastic game and they won really well. And as all other teams, we are trying to find the right mix."

When asked about his opponents Pune who displayed good performance against ATK, he said,

"One thing that they have done really well is that they have been very precise when they had the chances. When you have this situation, you have to try to not make mistakes because they can punish you. They have tough and good players in front, and we know that we cannot give them an inch."

Mumbai have conceded too many goals already unlike last season, talking about the same, he said,

"Amrinder Singh did well in the last two games. So, of course, Pune - with the players they have - know that they have to put the ball in impossible places where the keeper cannot reach. It’s like when you play Rafael Nadal. To win, you have to make four winning shots, and maybe the fifth one he won’t reach."

"In football, you can never say that today you are this, and tomorrow will be exactly the same. If you see, because of the draft, most of the teams didn’t have a chance to maintain at least the main players. This year, we have a completely different mix, and we are trying very hard to do it fix the issue of conceding goals."

Mumbai faced an early set back after Leo Costa was injured. Coach Guimaraes stated that teams will slowly get there and it will take time to evaluate them where they stand.

"I think that we still have to wait for some rounds to know and to see what changes in terms of football and in terms of getting opportunities for some players who may not have had the chance to play in the ISL last season. Also, let’s see how many teams have the courage to introduce some young players. After Christmas maybe, in the middle of the tournament, we should know."

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