AFC Asian Cup: India 4 -1 Thailand, 5 takeaways from the game

#4 Jeje finds his shooting boots

Jeje Lalpheklua could be a force to handle if he continues scoring throughout the tournament

If I told you last season that Jeje Lalpekhlua has failed to score in 11 games in the Indian Super League 2018/19 campaign, you would probably laugh at my face. But the Mizo sniper has indeed failed to score in 11 games for Chennaiyin FC and his form with India hasn't been great either, failing to score in all of the recent matches. This poor form also meant a downward decline in confidence as Jeje was failing to convert some easy chances and received criticism from the same pundits who showered praise on him last season.

After the downward spiral this season, Constantine decided to drop the 28-year-old for India's first game in the AFC Asian Cup. Ashique Kuruniyan took his place and played impressively well for the opening 45 minutes as he held up the ball well and won the penalty for India's opening goal.

Jeje knew his spot in the starting 11 was being threatened and that he had to shine if he was called into action. His opportunity came in the 78th minute when he was substituted into the pitch for Kuruniyan. It didn't take long for him to find the back of the net. Two minutes after his substitution, he found himself in space with the ball on the edge of the box. He cleverly finished the ball past the Thailand keeper and celebrated ecstatically as it was his first goal in nearly ten months.

The Mizo sniper has finally found his shooting boots. The fans couldn't have asked for a better time for Jeje to end his goal drought as the Blue Tigers now take on UAE and Bahrain in the group stages of the tournament. They will surely hope that Jeje fires them to victory and to the next stage of the tournament.