Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC played out a 1-1 draw in Wednesday’s Indian Super League encounter. A sublime header from Jeje Lalpekhlua gave the hosts a well-deserved lead. But Leo Costa secured a vital point for Mumbai with a monstrous long range effort in the dying minutes.
Here are 5 talking points from the game:
#1 Raphael Augusto proves his quality in midfield
If you had to find one word to describe Chennaiyin’s number 19, dynamic wouldn’t be a bad one. The Brazilian continues to display his versatility all across the pitch and tonight was no different.
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Every time Raphael had the ball, he powered forward with intent and attracted players towards him. The man on loan from Fluminense performed the box to box midfielder’s role to the letter. Stepovers, sudden change in pace and direction, he did it all on the night.
Despite being positioned in the middle, he formed a creative and potent partnership with Jeje who often dropped deep to combine with the Brazilian. Raphael continues to be a vital cog in Chennai’s midfield, which without his presence seems brittle.
#2 Mumbai City FC must involve Sony Norde a lot more
Somewhere around the 30th minute, the visitors had a glorious chance to break on the counter. Unfortunately for Mumbai, the receiver of the crucial pass, Diego Forlan was surrounded by four men.
During such moments, one wonders if Mumbai ought to get Sony Norde a lot more on the ball. Whenever the Haitian was presented with an opportunity to run, run he did - zipping past a couple of players with relative ease. But his team-mates failed to release the ball to him when he is most dangerous - on the counter.
They were content on keeping possession and slowing down play. Being the away side, this was understandable to some extent. But if Mumbai aim of being champions this season, taking risks is something they’d have to get comfortable with.
#3 Diego Forlan flirts with number 10 role
“Now, Forlan will have the chance to play more often. He will get more involved in the game as he plays more often,” said Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes around a week back. Against Chennai, the Uruguayan attempted to do exactly that - get more connected into the game.
For almost the entire first half, Forlan dropped deep to receive the ball and attempted to orchestrate proceedings. The visitors lacked creativity in midfield. It meant Forlan hardly had a sniff of the ball which coerced the veteran into changing his position. He took up free kick responsibilities and attempted to find Norde with long range crosses.
Forlan’s experiment didn’t pay dividends on the night but could well do so as he gets more familiar with the number 10 role.
#4 Diminutive Jeje stands tall on the night
Last week, Sunil Chhetri scored from a corner in the AFC Cup semi-final. Tonight, his international teammate and buddy, Jeje did the same.
As Maurizio Peluso whipped in a cross to the near post, Jeje Lalpekhlua rose highest to head the ball past Mumbai’s keeper as the visitors continued to display their vulnerability from set pieces.
“We have to improve our set pieces. Because this is a situation that we did very well in pre-season,” said coach Alexandre, the last time they played a home game. His side haven’t learnt from their past mistakes. The fact that a striker who is 5ft 8 inches tall rose above Mumbai’s towering centre backs paints the painful picture that Mumbai keep staring at.
Credit to Jeje who headed the ball into the ground. It gave the keeper no chance to produce a save.
#5 Leo Costa bails out lacklustre Mumbai with sensational goal
Mumbai City FC have a certain Brazilian to thank as they snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat. Till the 88th minute, they played the game at pedestrian pace. The hosts, though, looked extremely comfortable while defending as Mumbai failed to muster any kind of goal scoring chances.
An apparent lack of chemistry was evident on the night as the Forlan-Norde partnership failed to click. Against the run of play, Leo Costa then produced what could arguably go down as the goal of the season. From around thirty-two yards out, the midfielder unleashed a monstrous effort which found the corner of the net.
It gave Mumbai their first ever point against Chennai since the inception of the Indian Super League.
