FC Pune City emerged victorious in the Maharashtra Derby that took place between the Stallions and Mumbai City FC on Thursday. An eighty ninth minute goal from Pune's returning midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh won the game for the match for the Antonio Habas-managed side.
Both the teams were equally good in terms of quality on the night, but a mistake from goalkeeper Albino Gomes lost the game for Mumbai. However, the Alexandre Guimaraes-managed team still sit second on the points table with 15 points and Pune moved to the fourth spot after their win.
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Here are the five talking points from the game.
#1 Sunil Chhetri and Diego Forlan, a great combination
Sunil Chhetri, who was with I-League club Bengaluru FC participating in the AFC Cup, gave a huge boost to Guimaraes and Mumbai by returning to the squad this week. The combo of Chhetri and the team's marquee player Diego Forlan was always expected to be a deadly one.
Thursday's game gave the Indian Super League fans the chance to see the duo play together for the first time and they were not disappointed. Chhetri and Forlan linked up very well. The two had a good chemistry between them from start to beginning of the game. The two forwards have a similar type of playing style and helped them play smoothly. Both of the players are hard workers and love to fall deep to help his team.
The only thing the two stars were not able to do was to score. Even though Chhetri and Forlan were in good touch, they weren't able to find the back of the net. The game was held in Mumbai, and the fans there would have loved to see them score.
#2 Edel Bete too good for the Mumbai attack to beat
In the first point, we discussed how good Chhetri and Forlan were on the night. Mumbai's top-scorer Matias Defederico was also in good form, but still, the team was not able to score, and the reason for this was Pune goalkeeper Edel Bete.
The former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper was key for Atletico de Kolkata in their title-winning campaign in 2014; he was also critical for Chennaiyin FC in their title winning run in 2015 and now he is doing something similar with Pune City. Edel has only kept a single clean sheet this term, but he has saved his team several times. The 30-year old goalkeeper did very well to stop the shots made by the opposition attackers on Thursday.
Pune manager Habas will be hoping that the big man continues his form and helps the team to do what the player's former two teams did. Edel is one of the best goalkeepers the league has seen since it's beginning.
#3 Guimaraes pays the price for not playing Amrinder Singh
Mumbai's Costa Rican manager decided to bring returning Chhetri to the starting lineup, but he refused to pick goalkeeper Amrinder Singh. The 59-year old chose to stick with Albino Gomes in goal, and it might not be wrong to say that he paid the price for it.
It was a mistake from Gomes that led to the only goal of the night. The 22-year old was hardly tested in the whole match, but he made a blunder by failing to hold to on to an easy cross in the final minutes of the game. The young Indian goalkeeper came off his line to claim a cross from Pune defender Narayan Das and ended up spilling it. Lyngdoh, who was there at the right place, slammed the ball it into the net. It was the mistake from Gomes that turned the game in Pune's way.
Mumbai manager Guimaraes might now be regretting his decision of not playing Amrinder in goal. He will have realised that there is no point in keeping your best goalkeeper as a substitute.
#4 Eugeneson Lyngdoh returns to the Pune squad as a hero
Like Guimaraes, Habas also decided not to start his team's returning midfielder Lyngdoh. However, the Spaniard brought the dynamic player into the game at the start of the second half, and Lyngdoh showed what he is all about after coming on.
The 30-year old scored the winner for his side at the 89-minute mark and earned them three crucial points. The Indian midfielder did what he usually does during the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Lyngdoh made short and crisp passes, helping his team to attack, and also contributed defensively. The player was also given 'the Hero of the Match' award, even though he was on the pitch only for 45 minutes. This shows the impact he made on the game after coming on.
The return of Lyngdoh is a huge boost for Habas. The Indian midfielder can help Pune qualify for the playoffs and will be crucial in the team's remaining fixtures.
#5 The points table gets tighter and tighter
The result of the Maharashtra Derby saw Pune City move to the fourth spot in the points table, hence making the table, even more, tighter. This final few league fixtures will be very exciting to watch because of the same reason.
The Delhi Dynamos comfortably sit on top of the table with 16 points from nine games and also an excellent goal difference rate. The defeated team of the night Mumbai City FC are second on the table with 15 points from ten games. Then we have Atletico de Kolkata, Pune City FC and Kerala Blasters occupying the next three spots with 12 points each. The goal difference between the teams is also very narrow. NorthEast United and Chennaiyin FC come next with 10 points each.
However, they have only played eight games, which is one less than the two teams above them. FC Goa sits on the bottom of the table with only 7 points from nine games.
Each of the remaining matches is going to have an enormous impact on the tournament. No team can afford to lose at this stage, and every game is crucial. The tight points table is one of the reasons why this edition of the ISL is the best one we have ever seen.
