Player Ratings: Chennaiyin FC 2-3 Atletico de Kolkata

Jeje Lalpekhlua of Chennaiyin FC and Elano Blumer of Chennaiyin FC celebrate a goal.

Chennaiyin FC

Edel Bete- 6/10

He made a mistake in communication with defender Mailson who clashed with him while defending a free kick from Borja Fernandez. Bete dropped the ball which was slotted home by Postiga. He made up for it with the brilliant penalty from Javi Lara diving low towards his right.

Potenza-5.5/10

Potenza was average for the side, playing more of a sweeper role defending the central defense of the team. He was less aggressive, and rarely went on the overlap to support the team’s attack.

Mailson- 6/10

He was partly responsible when his miscommunication with Bete cost them a goal early in the match. After that he made amends with a stern defensive display in the first half. He was forced off with a shoulder injury during the half time break which was surely the turning point of the match.

Abhishek Das- 6/10

Abhishek was a live wire for the team in the righ back position. He was a little subdued in the first half although he came out strongly in the second half of the match. But a clear lack of confidence was evident from the young player as he was moving forward less.

Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte- 6.5/10

The young pick from this year’s auction played wonderfully in the left back position with a spirited defensive display. Although he lacked experience which led to him being substituted in the second half, he surely looks to be a promising prospect.

Raphael Agusto – 5/10

The Brazilian was not really effective during the whole match. He failed to do his duty properly with hardly any presence for the team. He needs to improve if he has to keep his position in the starting lineup of the team in the future.

Harmanjot Khabra- 6/10

Khabra is one of best utilty players in the country in recent times. His offensive mentality and a never giving up attitude helped to evolve his game in the last few years. He surely played very well in the midfield of Chennai winning hard tackles and challenging every single loose ball.

Thoi Singh- 7/10

The young Bengaluru FC defender has been tipped to be a promising talent this year and he surely made his mark in today’s match. His work rate was exceptional fighting for each and every ball in the midfield. With a little more experience, he is sure to go a long way.

Elano- 8/10

According to me, he is probably the man of the match today. Although his team lost but he was the best player in the match with a goal and a number of chances which should have been converted by Fikru. He proved that with a little more support he can pull the entire team on his should on any given day.

Fikru- 5.5/10

Although he was a major reason behind Chennaiyin’s first goal but he is nowhere near to his scintillating form of last year. He missed a number of easy sitters. Fikru’s fitness level is of concern as he had to be substituted during the second half.

Jeje Lalpeklua- 7/10

The national team striker was one of the less rated players before the first match. But he proved all the pundits wrong with an opportunist strike equalizing in the first half of the match. Other than the goal he was very hard working, playing in all the positions for the team. Well played indeed.

Subs

Bernard Mendy- 4/10

Unfit Bernard Mendy had to be brought on the field when defender Mailson could not continue anymore. He was very poor, making several mistakes which were converted by the ATK players. During the second goal it was his miss pass which Postiga got hold off and scored. He added to the misery by gifting a penalty to the Kolkata side by handling the ball inside the box.

Mendoza- 6.5/10

The Colombian was better than Fikru with a number of half chances that he created for himself. He could have easily scored if there was more support from the attacking line of Chennai. It was a surprise that Mendoza was not brought in earlier in the match.

Balwant Singh- 5.5/10

Of the amount of time he played, he gave his best. There were a few moments when he combined with Jeje but unfortunately it was not enough to score a goal. He was the reason behind Chennai getting the penalty which Elano scored.