ISL 2017, Match 33: Jamshedpur FC vs Chennaiyin FC, 5 Talking Points

Visitors Chennaiyin FC huffed and puffed their way to a vital 1-0 victory against Jamshedpur FC in Thursday's ISL encounter.

Jeje Lalpekhlua scored the only goal of the night, courtesy a spot kick in the first half. The home side had a penalty of their own too, but it was brilliantly saved by the Chennai keeper.

Here are the major talking points from tonight's tactical battle!

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#1 Jamshedpur surprisingly began the game on the offensive

Having scored just two goals prior to tonight, in six games, one doesn't usually associate Jamshedpur and the term - "attack". So far they've been a defensively solid side who rarely take risks when they venture forward.

But tonight, the home side started the game on the front foot. They were expressive and played some slick football much to the surprise of the viewers and commentators alike. Jamshedpur's players kept peppering the Chennaiyin goal with multiple shots in the opening minutes.

The visitors were taken by surprise and understandably so. This was the first time Steve Coppell's men took the game to their opponents. A far cry from their usual, reserved approach and it was delightful to watch them strut their stuff.

#2 Dynamic Mehtab Hossain makes Jamshedpur tick

Mehtab (number 14) even received a yellow card for his troubles (Image: ISL)

If there's one man who ensured Jamshedpur could attack with full force, it was Mehtab Hossain. The defensive midfielder was dynamic and his off the ball movement was impressive.

Tonight, Mehtab wasn't merely a box-to-box midfielder. He was omnipresent in the middle of the park and on the wings. He aided Jamshedpur's wingers and delivered some dangerous crosses from the right.

Apart from his defensive duties, Hossain positioned himself intelligently at the centre circle. With nobody marking him, he had ample time to play out the ball to his colleagues and build the attack. As usual, he also consistently harried Chennaiyin's play-makers off the ball. He was unfortunate to concede the penalty in the first half.

#3 Karanjit Singh pulls off legendary penalty save

Karanjit Singh pulled off one of the saves of the season (Image: ISL)

After a period of 40 minutes during which both teams attempted to cut through each other, it was the visitors who took the lead courtesy a well-taken penalty by forward Jeje Lalpekhlua. However, Chennaiyin's joy was short-lived. Luckily for them, their goalkeeper was in splendid form.

Minutes later, Jamshedpur were awarded a penalty. Post some intense minutes of pushing and arguing, Belfort stepped up to take the spot-kick and looked at ease. His shot had power and placement but Chennai's keeper Karanjit Singh pulled ofh a stunning save to deny the Haitian.

Singh dived and outstretched his left hand, successfully parrying away the stinging shot. That save had world class written all over it. Throughout the first half, Karanjit looked alert and that stop topped off a beautiful night for him, individually. He was Chennai's best player on the night.

#4 End-to-end stuff from both sides in second half

Jeje missed a golden chance in the second half (Image: ISL)

After taking a crucial lead just before half-time, you'd reckon the visitors would be content with a more reserved approach in the second half. But Chennaiyin refused to back down.

Both sides looked stretched immediately after the first half. While Jamshedpur attempted to play their way through, Chennai always looked dangerous on the counter. It made for an intriguing, end-to-end encounter. Far too often, we've seen teams play it safe when in the lead.

Credit to Chennaiyin for continuing to persist with their attacks. Jeje, Gregory Nelson and Mihelic combined well for the visitors. At the other end, Jerry, Belfort and Trindade always looked to find openings early on in the second half.

#5 Jamshedpur pay the price for going off the boil

The referee's book had a number of names by the end of the game (Image: ISL)

It was rather unfortunate. After an extremely positive start to the game, Jamshedpur failed to build on their strong opening. What started off as a promising night eventually turned into a dud.

Conceding so late in the second half, under controversial circumstances seemed to have negatively impacted the home side. Since then, Coppell's men never looked the same. In the second half, they lacked the clarity, the ambition and the intent - all of which was present in the first.

Their opponents, Chennai were calm and composed throughout. They showed exactly why they are perched at the top of the points table. The men in blue were icy cool tonight.