Mumbai City FC's AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign got off to a sad start on Monday when it lost 0-2 to Iranian debutants Nassaji Mazandaran.
For the visiting team, goals were scored by Mohammadreza Azadi (62nd) and Ehsan Hosseini (34th).
In the ninth minute, Lallianzuala Chhangte received a pass from Jorge Pereyra Diaz and nearly put Mumbai ahead when his effort from a tight angle missed the goal.
Nassanji gained the advantage with 11 minutes left in the half. The Iranians took the lead after Hossein Zamehran scooped up the ball 20 yards from goal and quickly turned to play Ehsan Hosseini in with a defense-splitting pass. Ehsan Hosseini calmly slid the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
A minute into the first half's extra time, Bipin had the opportunity to ensure that Mumbai ended the half tied, but he missed the target after finding himself in a good shooting position after Chhangte rolled the ball across the goal.
When replacement Farshid Esmaeili stole Akash Mishra in the middle of his penalty area and had the foresight to roll the ball into the six-yard box, Azadi was left with the easiest of finishes to round off the Iranian team's tally.
As Mumbai attempted a last-ditch comeback, Vikram Partap shot across the goal, and Chhangte's header went wide, but Nassaji saw out the nine minutes of added time to win in its inaugural AFC Champions League game.
