Mohun Bagan eye historic treble in ISL summit clash vs Mumbai City FC

Mohun Bagan will look to cap off their fairytale season with a historic treble as they face Mumbai City FC in the ISL 202324 summit clash at Salt Lake Stadium with 62000 partisan fans expected to cheer their guts out and paint the stands in green and maroon creating an electrifying atmosphere here on SaturdayThe season began with the Mariners winning the Durand Cup for the first time after 23 years Having slipped to fifth in the table at midway stage Antonio Habas took over from Juan Ferrando and led them to their maiden League Winners ShieldTwo weeks after they defeated Mumbai City FC 21 to win their maiden Shield the two teams will return to the same venue of Salt Lake Stadium with an aim to complete a rare double in the ISL and a hattrick of titles in one seasonAs per noted football statistician Hari Prasad Chattopadhyay the last time Mohun Bagan won three titles or more was more than 23 years back when they had won the erstwhile National Football League NFL Federation Cup Calcutta Premier Division League Sikkim Gold Cup and Bordoloi Trophy The coach was India captain Sunil Chhetris fatherinlaw Subroto BhattacharyyaMumbai City FC have done it before in 202021 and the stage will be set for Mohun Bagan to follow suitStatistics have no relevance We have to continue playing well and complete the circle the 66yearold Spanish tactician said in the prematch media interactionThree years back Mohun Bagan had squandered a 10 lead to to suffer a 12 defeat against the same team at the ISL final held in Margao which was played behind closed doors due to the COVID19 pandemicBut revenge is not on Habas mindsIm not about revenge thats stuff you see in movies or with the mafia Its just another game against tough opponents and its going to be a great show for the ISL Habas saidThe target however is to finish the game in 45 minutes said Habas making it clear that he will go allout in attack with Anirudh Thapa Jason Cummings Dimitri Petratos and Manvir SinghAlso Read A derby not for the faintheartedAsked about this strategy he said To finish it in 45 minutesObviously we dont want to go to extra team Its hot out there so better to finish it in 90 minutesThe 66yearold who has two ISL titles one Winners Shield making him the most successful coach of the toptier league further said hes in the fagend of his careerIm in the final stage of my coaching career and its a proud moment for meMohun Bagans attack will be boosted by a fitagain India midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad who came off the bench to strike the winning goal against Odisha FC in the return leg ISL 202324 semifinalWhile Sahal will be fit Armando Sadiku will miss the matchMumbai City on the other hand will bank of Vikram Pratap Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte while their Dutch midfielder Yoell van Nieff will miss out because of suspensionFor last four years ISL battle is all about Mumbai and Mohun Bagan who are fighting for this Shield and Trophy The recipe for our success has been to stay together and play together When the season began we were a group now we have become a family and we have to play like oneMohun Bagan have frequently struggled to maintain their lead and have conceded goals due to defensive lapses a vulnerability that Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky will surely be mindful of and seized the momentumPlayers want to play in front of packed stadium I think it will be an extra motivation to do well he saidHe further said losing the Shield was difficultWe knew what was at stake its always hard We tried to regroup put ourselves together A couple of training sessions the spirit was little down but now we are good to continueWith inputs from agencies