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Chennaiyin FC were crowned champions of the Indian Super League on Saturday courtesy a sublime performance against Bengaluru FC.
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Defender, Mailson Alves scored a brace while Raphael Augusto scored a sweet curling effort to give Chennai a 3-2 victory over BFC.
Sunil Chhetri's well-taken header and Miku's late second went in vain as his teammates struggled to impose themselves in front of their own crowd. In doing so, Jeje and co. lifted their second ISL trophy since the tournament's inception.
Here are the major talking points from tonight's encounter.
#1 Jerry vs Udanta proves to be an intriguing battle
It started from minute one. The moment, Bengaluru's Udanta Singh received one on the right wing, Chennaiyin's young left-back, Jerry was at his heels, marking him every inch of the way. It was a battle of speed vs technique. Patience vs pace.
But it didn't take long for Singh to impose himself. In the 9th minute, he broke with breakneck speed down the wings, zipping past Jerry before delivering a pinpoint cross to you know who - Sunil Chhetri who did extremely well to score a diving header.
While Jerry put in a shift, he struggled to keep up with Singh whenever Bengaluru broke on the counter. When BFC attempted to build up their play, the left-back was at ease and alert but his lack of speed caused him numerous problems tonight.
#2 Early Bengaluru goal does not deter Chennaiyin FC
Going down to an early goal in a final is the worst possible situation to be in. Sunil's opener gave the home fans all the more reason to make themselves heard as they created a hostile atmosphere inside the stadium.
But that did not deter Chennaiyin one bit. In fact, it spurred them on. No less than 8 minutes later, they scored the equaliser courtesy a towering header from Mailson Alves. Dead ball specialist, Gregory Nelson delivered a sublime cross from a corner and the centre-back rose highest, nestling his header past a hapless, Gurpreet Singh.
John Gregory's men could have easily crumbled but they displayed immense character to score the equaliser and never for one moment did they put their heads down. The home fans did not see that coming.
#3 High pressing from BFC keeps Chennaiyin on edge
For the entire duration of the first half, Bengaluru's front three and midfielders incessantly pressed Chennai's back four and holding midfielders. It was a sight to behold. Chennaiyin's creative outlets, Nelson and Raphael Augusto hardly had time on the ball.
More importantly, their back four struggled when the likes of Sunil, Miku and Udanta pressed them high up the pitch. John Gregory's men are usually comfortable in possession but tonight they were made to sweat it out in their own final third.
Calderon, Jerry and Henrique Sereno tried to play the ball out but failed. As a result, they adopted a no-nonsense approach and decided to spray aerial balls into Bengaluru's half. They did achieve relative success with that, winning the second ball consistently and moving ahead from there on.
#4 Chennai give Bengaluru a taste of their own medicine
On so many occasions this season, fans and pundits alike have raved about Bengaluru's potency from set-piece situations. The likes of Partaalu, Juanan and John Johnson have proved to be a handful for opposition defenders all season.
But tonight, Chennaiyin gave them a taste of their own medicine. They scored both their goals from set pieces - corners. Assisted by Gregory Nelson on both occasions. Centre-back, Mailson Alves stung Bengaluru where they least expected to be outdone.
The same towering players in the BFC team came out second best. Their marking from both the corners was poor and credit to Alves' teammates - Henrique Sereno and Dhanpal Ganesh who made a nuisance of themselves in the box and helped the goalscorer peel away from his markers.
#5 Jeje and Co. bring on the heat with a ruthless performance
Today's performance from Chennaiyin FC will go down as one of the best of all times at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru. There aren't many teams who have come here and outperformed Sunil Chhetri and company.
Despite finding themselves up against the wall in the opening ten minutes, they held their calm and delivered what can be called a ruthless performance. Chennai did not create too many chances but when they did, they scored and sliced open the home side.
Raphael Augusto's goal will be admired for a long time to come. From a counter-attack, Jeje held on to the ball and waited before setting up the Brazilian who opened his body and side-footed a sweet shot past Gurpreet.
More importantly, John Gregory's men defended like warriors. Keeping quality players like Sunil and Miku quiet for large parts of the match is no mean feat. Apart from the opening and ending minutes, Chennaiyin produced a thoroughly heroic performance and deserved to lift the trophy. Man for man, their players were far more mature and composed in their approach.
