Mumbai City FC couldn’t have asked for a better preparation for the new season of the franchise-based Indian Super League that kicks off in Bangalore on Friday with Bengaluru FC taking on NorthEast United FC in the league opener. Mumbai begin their campaign on Sunday against Hyderabad FC.

The Mumbai side, who failed to make the semi-finals last season, qualified for the AFC Champions League this year by virtue of their 2020-21 ISL League Winners Shield. Here, they became the first Indian club to win at the AFC Champions League. More recently, they finished runner-up in the Durand Cup. It’s no wonder then that coach Des Buckingham has a positive outlook for the new season. “We wanted to start the Durand Cup the way we finished the Asian Champions League. We did that and are in a much better place than we were 12 months ago,” Buckingham said during a virtual media interaction on Thursday.