Manolo Marquez cites possession problems after Mumbai City held 1-1 by Punjab
Mumbai City FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Monday in an Indian Super League 2026-27 match after Gurkirat Singh struck in the final minute, a result head coach Manolo Marquez said exposed his side’s shortcomings. Marquez said the late equaliser and his team’s inability to keep the ball under pressure underlined areas that need improvement.
Mumbai had taken the lead and looked on course for their first win of the season but conceded in stoppage time to be denied all three points. The Islanders arrived in the match still seeking a victory after an opening-day loss to Churchill Brothers and were left to settle for a point following Gurkirat’s late strike. Marquez highlighted that the team effectively finished the match with 10 men for the final 12 minutes after Wilmar Jordan Gil suffered an injury and the club had already used all substitutions.
Reflecting on the result, Marquez said Punjab merited a point and pointed to tactical issues that cost Mumbai control of the match. “Punjab deserved a point as well. We became too defensive, and we need to improve in attack. We conceded in the last minute, and considering the circumstances, we practically played the final 12 minutes with 10 men because Wilmar was injured and we had already made all our substitutions.”
Marquez singled out possession as a key problem, connecting it to squad continuity and player tendencies on the flanks. “We need to keep the ball more. We had this problem even during pre-season. We have very fast wingers who want to finish the attack immediately, but sometimes they cannot hold the ball. We have the quality to keep possession, and we need to do better. “Punjab had more possession because they have eight players from last season. Perhaps we are not comfortable enough in possession at the moment, especially with players like Noufal and Vikram, who are very quick and want to attack immediately,” he said.
The coach praised the defensive work and the effort of players such as Farukh Choudhary while warning that injuries to attacking personnel could be damaging. Marquez described Vikram Partap Singh’s knock to the shin and Wilmar’s late muscular problem as causes for concern and said the club would await medical results. “Vikram looks to have a bad injury because he was hit on his shin bone. We will have to wait for the results. It is the same with Wilmar, who had a muscle problem towards the end of the game,” Marquez revealed.
Marquez also framed the match within wider changes across Indian football and the evolving state of several clubs. “Due to the circumstances in Indian football, many teams are completely different now. Goa, Chennaiyin and even Mumbai have changed. This is a good team, but it is not the same team that was fighting for titles two seasons ago,” he said, and he referenced differing trajectories among clubs across the league.
Underlining the priority of collecting points, Marquez said he had pre-framed a draw against Punjab as acceptable given earlier dropped points and the competitive nature of the league. “I told the players before the Churchill game that a draw against Punjab would be a good result. We should have won against Churchill, but every point in this league will mean a lot. We need to fight for every point. “If we lose players through injuries, it will become even more difficult, and we will have to fight harder. If Punjab had not scored, we would have been fourth. If they had scored twice, we could have been at the bottom. So, I am happy that we got at least a point. There is something to build on,” he stated.
Mumbai City will next face Kerala Blasters FC as Marquez looks to address possession and attacking issues while awaiting medical updates on Vikram and Wilmar ahead of that fixture.