A late goal from Amine Chermiti saw Mumbai City FC stun Kerala Blasters FC 1-0 in a closely-fought Indian Super League clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Thursday.
While the result meant Mumbai start their season with a win, it was also their first-ever victory over Kerala Blasters in Kochi.
But the night belonged as much to Chermiti as it did to Amrinder Singh, the visiting goalkeeper.
Amrinder produced one of the best saves in the history of the tournament to keep Kerala’s star striker Bartholomew Ogbeche from scoring an equaliser.
In a last-gasp attempt to get back into the game, Ogbeche latched on to a chip by Sahal Abdul Samad inside the box but the Nigerian’s swivelling strike from close-range was miraculously saved by Amrinder as Mumbai returned home with three points.
While in real-time it appeared to be a case of the ball hitting the goalkeeper more than a great save, replays from behind the goal showed how Amrinder had to put his left arm out to keep the ball (which was struck cleanly) from going in.
The goal-saving effort was praised widely on Twitter:
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