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Chennaiyin FC got their first home victory in ISL when they defeated Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday. However, this victory didn't change the Marina Machans' position in the points table as they are still languishing in the bottom of the pile with 8 points from 15 matches.
Jeje Lelpekhlua broke his goalscoring jinx after finding the back of the net in the 32nd minute to draw first blood. Gregory Nelson scored another goal just before the stroke of halftime to ensure the Marina Machans headed into the game with a two-goal cushion. Sunil Chhetri did pull one back in the 57th minute through an acrobatic header but it turned out to be a mere consolation as the full-time scoreline reached 2-1.
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Bengaluru FC gaffer Carles Cuadat made as many as five changes to the side that rallied from behind to hold Kerala Blasters 2-2 in their previous encounter. Kean Lewis, Albert Serran, Dimas Delgado, Udanta Singh, and Edmund Lalrindika made their way out for Miku, Luisma Villa, Rino Anto, Rahul Bheke, and Xisco Hernandez in the starting line-up.
Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory, on the other hand, made only three changes to the side that lost 1-2 to FC Pune City. The Indian Asian Cup 2019 trio of Germanpreet Singh, Anirudh Thapa, and Halicharan Narzary started from the bench so that Francisco Fernandes, new signing Chris Herd, and Jeje Lalpekhlua started out.
The match was evenly contested but individual brilliance and mistakes turned out to be the difference. On that note, here are five hits and flops from the Chennaiyin FC vs. Bengaluru FC match.
#5 Hit- Karanjit Singh (Chennaiyin FC)
Karanjit Singh might no longer be competing for the #1 spot in the Indian national team line-up but, the 33-year-old has shown that age hasn't withered him down. Although he wasn't tested as frequently as Gurpreet, he did his job wonderfully when the opposition asked him questions.
Karanjit wonderfully countered Gurpreet's long ball towards Luisma Villa and Sunil Chhetri by coming out of his line to get hold of the ball. Bengaluru FC are pretty dangerous on set pieces but, his positioning sense ensured they couldn't score from one on the given day.
#4 Flop- Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC)
After producing a staggering nine saves against Northeast United FC, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has let in 2 goals in back-to-back matches against Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC in the first half.
In the 18th minute, the 27-year-old's horrendous punch fell straight into the path of CK Vineeth. However, luck rescued him that time as the Kerala Blasters loanee scuffed his volley.
But, in the 33th minute, lady luck couldn't save him. Jeje Lalpekhlua collected Gregory Nelson's pass and after controlling the ball with a touch, took a shot at the face of goal. Gurpreet positioned himself perfectly and even got both his hands. However, the ball slipped from his clutches and he had to collect the ball from the net.
His performance in the second half was much better but, Gurpreet needs to up his ante if he doesn't want to lose the #1 spot in the Indian team.
#3 Hit- Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC)
Jeje Lalpekhlua wore the captain's armband for the first time in the 2018-19 season of ISL and didn't disappoint the gaffer for a bit. The Indian international finally broke his goalscoring jinx when rival goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu scrambled to collect his shot from just inside the box.
The Mizo Sniper had only one shot in the game but it had so much venom in it that it ended in the back of the net. Furthermore, Jeje helped Chennaiyin FC in their attacks with his passing. He made a total of 31 passes in the game, with an accuracy of 71%.
However, Jeje is still a shadow of his former self and needs to come up with better performances consistently. The fans are yet to witness his ability to hold up the ball and win fouls in dangerous positions. Now that he has found his scoring goals, maybe we can see that trick in the upcoming matches.
#2 Flop- Miku (Bengaluru FC)
Miku started the game for the first time after recovering and rehabilitating from a long injury break. Needless to say, the Venezuelan looked rusty against Chennaiyin FC but time should heal it.
Miku managed to break the offside trap numerous times and got the better of left-back Tondonba Singh on numerous occasions. However, his eventual shot betrayed him. The Valencia youth academy product kept only one shot on target out of the four, he managed to take. Moreover, he only had a passing accuracy of 31% on the attacking front.
One aspect in which Miku succeeded with flying colors was drawing out defenders and freeing the burden from Sunil Chhetri's shoulders. Three Chennaiyin FC defenders marked him out which eventually set the captain free.
However, as the league has reached its business end, the Venezuelan shouldn't be surprised with the oppositions deploying this tactic. Instead, Miku and Carles Cuadrat should rather focus on countering it.
#1 Hit- Raphael Augusto (Chennaiyin FC)
Raphael Augusto was a constant thorn in the Bengaluru FC defense and his trickery and ability to control the ball with both his feet troubled the defensive midfielder Harmanjot Singh Khabra and the fullbacks Rino Anto and Nishu Kumar.
In the 18th minute, Gurpreet punched his scintillating free-kick in the path of CK Vineeth, who failed to put the ball in. He even set Anirudh Thapa for a shot at goal from outside the box in the 28th minute after getting the better of Harmanjot Singh Khabra.
Chennaiyin FC finally reaped the fruits of his hard work five minutes later when he swept the ball from Khabra's feet and passed it diagonally in the attacking third. Jeje Lalpekhlua did the needful to send the home fans in euphoria.
He also made a massive contribution to the sides' defense which otherwise looked extremely lacklustre. The Dutchman won three fouls, made nine tackles, three clearances, four interceptions, and six blocks to rightfully win the 'Hero of the Match' award.
ALSO SEE: ISL Results | ISL Table | ISL Fixtures
