ISL: Chennaiyin FC concede narrow defeat in hard-fought contest against Mumbai City FC

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 21 : Chennaiyin FC conceded a narrow 1-0 defeat in the ongoing Indian Super League 2024-25 match against Mumbai City at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday.
Having recovered from an illness, head coach Owen Coyle named captain Ryan Edwards and playmaker Lukas Brambilla in the team, both of whom overcame injury concerns to start the match. Coyle also included Jitendra Singh in his starting lineup for the season's first time, while fullback Ankit Mukherjee was included in his first matchday squad since mid-October, having fully recuperated from a prolonged injury.
Despite an evenly-matched start, Chennaiyin fell behind early when a deflected shot fell kindly into the path of forward Nikos Karelis, who scored from close range. Aiming for a quick response, the Marina Machans looked to carve the hosts open and came close to doing so on multiple occasions, with both Brambilla and Kiyan Nassiri showing promise. One such move played Brambilla in behind the defence, but he was denied a clear shot by a crunching tackle, according to a release from Chennaiyin FC,
With moments left to go in the first half, Daniel Chima Chukwu nodded the ball into the net from close range, but the linesman raised his flag instantly, indicating offside.
Shortly after the restart, Irfan Yadwad connected with Chukwu's inviting cross with a diving header, but his impressive effort struck the crossbar. Moments later, the ball fell to Kiyan in the box; he cut inside onto his left foot and tried to shoot, but his attempt was blocked.
Past the hour, Chukwu attempted to breach the Mumbai goal with headers, finding the goalkeeper with both efforts. At the other end, meanwhile, custodian Mohammad Nawaz stood firm to prevent Mumbai from increasing their lead late into the match, drawing a save to deny Brandon Fernandes with his face.
Chennaiyin will now turn their focus to the next challenge, a crucial home fixture against Bengaluru FC on Saturday, December 28.