ISL: Pressure will be on Mumbai City FC, says East Bengal coach

Panaji (Goa): SC East Bengal coach Mario Rivera feels pressure will be on Mumbai City FC when both sides meet in the Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda on Tuesday.

Mumbai sit at fifth position on the ISL table, with 25 points from 16 matches, and will need to be at their best in the remaining matches to give themselves any chance of qualifying for the ISL semi-finals. SC East Bengal occupy 11th place, with 10 points from 17 matches.

"Mumbai City FC will need to win to reach the top four, so the pressure will be on them. But they have big-game players who know how to deliver under pressure, so it will not be an easy game for us either," Rivera said in the pre-match press conference as per the SC East Bengal website.

Rivera believes the teams in the ISL can hardly be distinguished based on quality.

"I keep saying this, ISL is a very competitive league, where there's not much of a difference between the teams in the top half and bottom half. Any team can beat any team on their day," Rivera said.

The Spaniard was all praise for left-back Hira Mondal, who has shown immense maturity and guile this season.

"Hira is a fantastic player and has a very distinctive set of skills. I talk to him a lot. If he keeps going like this and learn every day, he will be in the national team soon.

But for now, he needs to learn more and correct his mistakes. He is on the right track though," Rivera said. (ANI)