PUNE: Mumbai City were hoping to start their 2023-24 AFC Champions League adventure by building on their impressive showing in their maiden appearance in the competition last season. But Iranian opponents Nassaji Mazandaran went on to enjoy a memorable debut in Asian club football's signature event themselves, pulling off a 2-0 win in their group D fixture at Balewadi Stadium on Monday.
Despite the ISL Shield winners managing to get a stronger foothold in the game, it was Mehdi Rahmati's team who managed to strike against the run of play in the 34th minute through a composed finish by defender Mohammad Hosseini. The Islanders still had reason to be hopeful of turning things around, even though they hadn't managed a single attempt on target in the first half after domination possession. But that was all effectively extinguished just past the hour mark through a moment of sloppiness at the back.
