I-League 2017-18: Mohun Bagan vs Aizawl FC, Talking Points

Mohun Bagan beat Aizawl FC 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday to enter the top four with 13 points in 8 games.

The defending champions weren't at their best in the match against the Kolkata-based side. Newly appointed Mohun Bagan manager Shankarlal Chakraborty started his reign with a win, as the Mariners closed down the gap between them and arch-rivals East Bengal to just four points Here are a few talking points from the match.

#1 Life without Sanjoy Sen

After failing to win a single match in four consecutive attempts and losing the first home match in his reign, Sen decided to resign from the managerial post which allowed the assistant manager, Shankarlal Chakraborty to take the post for the rest of the season.

The new manager carried on much in the same vein as his predecessor, with Mohun Bagan banking on long balls and counter-attacks. Even, their second goal came via a long ball which Dicka received before rounding the goalkeeper and slotted it calmly into the back of the net.

#2 Low attendance even on a Sunday afternoon

Despite this being a Sunday kickoff, Not a lot of fans turned up. (Representational Image)

Mohun Bagan have had really low attendances throughout the season and the shift to Mohun Bagan ground hasn't helped in any way for the team.

Even on a Sunday afternoon at 2 pm, which in winter makes for delightful conditions in the city of Kolkata, the biggest club in the country failed to attract a sizeable crowd even when playing the defending champions. The total attendance for this match was 5,785, according to the I-League authorities.

With the popularity of Indian Super League increasing with time and the I-league reverting to afternoon kickoffs, the clubs are finding it tough to attract crowds.

#3 Aizawl FC dominated but still lost

Aizawl played a smooth passing game.

Aizawl dominated the game with slick passing as their midfielders, especially Lalthathanga pulled the strings in midfield to make some chances for the team. They kept things true to their philosophy and kept the ball on the ground, passing it around.

Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, used long balls and some counter attacks paired with clinical finishing from their forwards to win the match. However, Aizawl were not as solid in defence, and ended up conceding two goals against a Mohun Bagan side that looked rejuvenated after Shankarlal Cgamraborty took over from Sanjoy Sen.

#4 Did Zikahi Leonce Dodoz deserve a sending off?

Zikah pushing Dicka

Around the 80th minute mark, SK Fiaz was fouled right outside his box, which led to a row amongst the players of both the teams. During this melee, Zikahi Leonce Dodoz seemed to have pushed Dipanda Dicka and the striker immediately went down to the ground.

There were a couple of other pushes and shoves during this incident, as Masih Saighani of Aizawl also pushed Nikhil Kadam, probably in frustration, as the defending champions were losing 2-0 at the time of the row.

The referee, though, took the incidents lightly and brandished a couple of yellow cards where it could have easily been a red for Dodoz.

#5 Shankarlal Chakraborty gets Mohun Bagan back to winning ways

Shankarlal Chakraborty

Mohun Bagan were without a win in four matches and desperately needed a win against Aizawl and that's exactly what their new manager delivered.

Sanjoy Sen resigned after losing his first home game of the season in his time at Mohun Bagan and had failed to win two consecutive matches against 10-man teams. He also had not won a single match in four games consecutively, something did not seem to be acceptable for a club of Mohun Bagan's stature.

Shankarlal Chakraborty had a massive challenge of facing the defending champions, that too, without the services of his skipper Sony Norde but he came out on top against Aizawl.