Career
Mandar has quick feet and outstanding acceleration which he uses to get away from full-backs. Dempo
Desai made his professional debut for Dempo in the 2013-2014 I-League on 22 September 2013 against Shillong Lajong at the Duler Stadium and played the match till 55th minute before he was replaced by Jeje Lalpekhlua as his team lost the match 0–3. = Football Club Goa (loan) Mandar represented Football Club Goa in the 2014 Indian Super League and was a regular for them on the left wing, with steady displays, and impressing with his pace.
Return to Dempo
After the 2014 ISL, Mandar returned to his senior club and started the new season in the 2014-2015 Indian Federation Cup, where he played in 5 of his teams" cup-winning campaign, assisting Tolgay Ozbey once in a group game.
While he was regular for Dempo during the 2014-2015 I-League, he couldn"t prevent his team from getting relegated. He made 14 appearances, with only 5 starts in the league.
= Football Club Goa (loan) Mandar was retained by Football Club Goa for the 2015 Indian Super League with Zico impressed by him from the first season. He scored again in a round 4 game away at Guwahati against NorthEast United after coming on as a substitute, from a swift counter attack, showing his impressive pace.
Mandar captained Goa-India during the 2014 Lusophony Games where he made 4 appearances and scored once, as he led his team to the Gold Medal, beating the under-20 team of Mozambique in the final.
Mandar made his India U23 debut in the 2014 Asian Games against United Arab Emirates U23.