Atletico de Kolkata qualified for their second ISL final in three seasons after holding Mumbai City FC to a goalless draw. The Kolkata side had already won the first leg of the semi-final 3-2 and even though they were reduced to 10 men a little before halftime, the team proved impossible to break down. Mumbai City, on the other hand, wasted an early chance and thereafter hardly got close to scoring as they lacked any real danger in the final third.
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The game started with both sides attacking in equal measure but once Robert, ATK’s left-back was sent off for his challenge on Defederico, the team from the west dominated the game. In spite of their ascendancy against the visitors, the ‘draw specialists’ beat the leaders of the table in their own backyard.
The second leg was fast-paced and exciting and it was unfortunate that the game ended in a terrible scuffle among players from both sides. All ugliness aside, here’s looking at how the players fared ahead of the final:
Mumbai City FC
Amrinder Singh – 6/10
Atletico de Kolkata didn’t give Amrinder Singh much to do as he barely felt the need to stray from his line. However, when he was finally called into action to protect his goal from ATK’s first corner, he held his ground and made the catch.
Sehnaj Singh - 7/10
Sehnaj stuck to his task well and won the ball from Ruidas despite his skilful manoeuvring in the first half. He also did a great job of reading crosses well and cutting it off. The newly signed Mohun Bagan recruit played like a rock until he was taken off in the second half to be replaced by Jackichand Singh.
Anwar Ali – 5/10
The centre-back had a quiet night as ATK didn’t really give him much to defend. Ali wasn’t very visible on the ball either and was an invisible entity on the pitch.
Lucian Goian – 7/10
Goian made a great tackle that turned into an even better pass for Sunil Chhetri in the early minutes of the game. The Romanian defender made some solid challenges and also registered quite a few shots on target. In the final moments of the game, he was practically all over the place defending his own area and attacking his opponents’ goal. He ended the game with a total of five attempts, more than any of his sides’ strikers.
Sena Ralte – 5.5/10
Sena Ralte did not have a satisfactory game as he found it difficult to discharge his duties as a left-back. While he defended well and made sure ATK had few chances to score, his attempts going forward were poor and completely lost his head when he ended a good run with a horrendous pass.
Gerson Vieira – 6/10
Gerson held his own in the centre of the park, moving the ball along for his teammates but failed to make a concrete impact. He got away a long range shot on target but it was an easy save for Debjit. However, he did a good job of heading away a Javi Lara free kick in the final moments of the game. He made 5 interceptions and was Mumbai’s aerial reinforcement.
Krisztian Vadocz – 5.5/10
Vadocz kept Javi Lara marked all night, or at least till he was on the pitch. He was sacrificed for the sake of Thiago Cunha although that did not turn out too well for the home side. The midfielder ended the night after having done some dogged work.
Leo Costa – 6/10
Leo Costa passed the ball around with more precision than probably any other player on the field but that took his team only so far. He created two chances and did well to run into Tiri to win a free kick. He tried his hand at aiming a lofted shot at goal but that was ridiculously off target.
Matias Defederico – 7/10
Defederico was heavily involved in the game, especially when Mumbai was going forward. He made life difficult for ATK defender Robert and eventually got him sent off. The Argentine also got a shot on target within a couple of minutes of the second half. He was definitely one of the best players for the home side.
Sony Norde – 6.5/10
Sony Norde was a great outlet for Mumbai but it seemed like his teammates kept forgetting he was on the pitch. His side failed to utilise him efficiently and it wasn’t from a lack of trying from his side. He displayed some close control of the ball when he successfully got a delivery across in spite of two defenders but no one was there to meet it.
Sunil Chhetri – 5.5/10
Sunil Chhetri got in between the two Kolkata centre-halves to expose a weak spot early in the game but failed to get his shot off on time resulting in a comfortable save for Debjit. As the game wore on, he became less involved and cut a frustrated figure on the pitch.
Substitutes
Jackichand Singh – 6.5/10
Singh was introduced into the melee in place of Sehnaj Singh in the 56th minute. He saw a lot of the ball as his teammates were counting on him to turn the game around. Despite a handful of decent deliveries, nothing was made of them and his night ended on a disappointing note.
Thiago Cunha – 2/10
Cunha came on for Vadocz in the 69th minute and provided an especially good ball to Sony Norde. However, he also indulged in some distasteful flying kicks after the final whistle.
Cafu -6/10
Cafu came on for Defederico in the 82nd minute and provided a few decent chances for his teammates to attack.
Atletico de Kolkata
Debjit Majumder – 6.5/10
Debjit made an early save when he thwarted Sunil Chhetri’s shot on goal. He also strayed off his line and stayed down while his goal was undefended after a Defederico free-kick. The keeper clearly had a mixed night as he proved how uncomfortable he was with high balls. He even got himself booked for time-wasting on the hour mark!
Pritam Kotal – 6.5/10
Kotal did a bad job of keeping Norde in check during the first half Giving him the space to surge forward. He even made a clumsy challenge on the Haitian but his performance improved in the second half as he neutralised the threat from Norde.
Henrique Sereno – 7/10
Apart from that early mistake from Sereno when Chhetri was allowed the room to get past him, Sereno had a good game even though Kolkata was down by a man. He made crucial interceptions and blocks to deny Mumbai on multiple occasions.
José Arroyo – 6.5/10
Tiri made two very good blocks during the second leg of the semi-final. His first one was a shot from Vadócz and the second was a cross that Jackichand Singh sent into the box.
Robert – 4/10
Robert did well to force Defederico off the ball and concede a corner early in the proceedings. He was initially booked for a challenge on Defederico who kept running circles around him. Unable to resist, he committed a second foul leading to his immediate dismissal.
Borja Fernández – 8/10
The ATK captain read the game well throughout. He was there every time an interception was required. He was also there whenever the ATK defence was under threat. Considering his age, Borja was relentless in his effort to ensure his side walked away with a victory and a place in the final this weekend.
Stephen Pearson – 6/10
Largely absent from the game. ATK seemed to be playing with a man less even before the dismissal. However, once Robert had been sent off, he became a little more visible as he started providing assistance to Borja. The midfielder came quite close to giving ATK the lead as his header went sailing a little over the crossbar.
Bidyananda Singh – 4/10
Bidyananda Singh looked like he was still learning how to play football after he failed to control the ball on a few occasions. Finally, an acrobatic effort on goal in the first half forced him off for the remainder of the game.
Javi Lara – 8/10
Javi Lara was ATK’s best man on the pitch as he created the majority of his side’s chances. He played wherever he required whether it was alongside Stephen Pearson after Robert’s sending off or ahead of Kotal in the second half. He showed off some nice skill on the ball and took a few nice set pieces for the visitors.
Abinash Ruidas – 6/10
The young winger had a good first half as he made a few great deliveries inside the box. He was perhaps foolhardy to get himself booked for protesting a free kick awarded against his side. However, he was sacrificed for tactical reasons as he was replaced at the start of the second half.
Belencoso – 6.5/10
Belencoso was a little slow to attack a couple of great balls inside the box from Ruidas and Javi Lara. But he was effective when it came to holding up the ball in the dying minutes of the game. He kept hold of possession even though there was no way he could score and turned out to be a real team player.
Substitutes
Didika – 6.5/10
Didika came on in place of the injured Bidyananda Singh in the 24th minute. He got off a few shots that were either too high or blocked. All in all the substitute was a good replacement who impacted the game in a positive manner.
Keegan Pereira – 6.5/10
Pereira came on for Ruidas at the start of the second half to facilitate a change in formation after Robert’s sending off in the first. He made a superb block as Jackichand tried to get a shot off as soon as he came on. However, he also made similar mistakes like Robert by continuously falling into Defederico’s traps.
Sameehg Doutie – NA
Doutie came on for Javi Lara in the 89th minute.
