Toyota Yaris La Liga World: Kerala Blasters FC vs Girona FC - Player Ratings

The action from the Toyota Yaris La Liga World tournament came to an end as hosts Kerala Blasters FC faced off La Liga side Girona FC in the final match of the international pre-season tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Kerala.

Kerala Blasters FC had a poor start to the tournament when they suffered a 6-0 drubbing against Melbourne City FC in the first match earlier this week. However, they had fielded a young side and came in with higher hopes from their main squad.

On the other hand, Girona FC looked in fine touch against the Aussie side Melbourne City FC despite resting their crucial players in the first match. Both the sides made a lot of changes coming into the final fixture of the Toyota Yaris La Liga World tournament.

Kerala Blasters FC made Girona FC work hard for their goals maintaining a strong defensive shape throughout the game conceding only minutes before the end of the first half. Eric Montes managed to score just before the whistle with a great close-angle finish and the score ended 1-0 at halftime.

The second half saw Girona FC come into their element and take charge adding four goals at regular intervals by Pedro Porro, Alex Granell, Aday Benitez and a late penalty scored by Aleix Garcia that saw Girona FC win 5-0 at the full-time whistle.

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Kerala Blasters FC

Mohammad Rakip (4.5/10) - The young left-back for the Indian side had a tough time on the flank with the constant pressure by the Girona attackers but did his best to make it tough for them.Naveen Kumar (4/10) - Naveen Kumar was given the responsibility between the goal tonight replacing young Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. He made some crucial saves denying Girona the chance to go ahead but was beaten just before the half-time whistle. He ended up conceding goals in the second half but did produce a couple of good saves between the sticks.

Cyril Kali (4.5/10) - The newly signed centre-back was a strong presence in the Kerala defence and used his physical presence well to defend against the marauding Girona attackers. He made a lot of crucial interceptions and clearances from inside the box.

Sandesh Jhingan (4/10) - The Kerala Blasters skipper manned his personnel at the back with discipline as Kerala had to sit back to absorb the Girona pressure. He was his usual gritty self when going in for headers and tackles.

Anas Edathodika (3.5/10) - The returning Kerala boy played on the right side of the defence tonight but looked out of his comfort zone making a couple of crucial mistakes.

Prasanth K (3/10) - The youngster who had impressed everyone with his showing against Melbourne City FC had a poor game with barely any significant touches on the ball.

Keziron Kizito (5/10) - The pacey winger was the point man for Kerala during the counter attack attempts and displayed good discipline having to defend against the Girona midfielders tonight.

Zakeer Mundampara (5/10) - The former Mumbai City FC man played the enforcer role in the midfield for the home side putting in strong tackles in the centre of the field.

Courage Pekuson (6/10) - The Ghanian midfielder was the engine in the midfield for Kerala Blasters FC kickstarting their counter-attacks. He came close to scoring at the hour mark when his freekick was saved well by the Girona keeper Iraizoz.

Slavisa Stojanovic (3/10) - The Serbian attacker had a quiet night being the target man in the Kerala attack alongside Poplatnik. He was replaced by Halicharan Narzary in the final twenty minutes of the match.

Matej Poplatnik (3/10) - The Slovenian striker had a pretty silent game considering Kerala had very few attacking attempts on the Girona goal. His only significant contribution before being subbed off was earning the freekick that was almost put in by Pekuson.

Substitutes:

Seminlen Doungel (2/10) - The former Northeast United man was put on by David James to inject some pace and width to the Kerala Blasters attack.

Lalruatthara (2/10) - Lalruatthara came on in the second half to replace Cyril Kali in the central defensive setup alongside skipper Sandesh Jhingan.

Bhupendra Negi (2/10) - The youngster replaced Keziron Kizito in the Kerala midfield as James gave chance to youngsters to test his mettle.

Halicharan Narzary (2/10) - The India winger came on in the Kerala attack for the final twenty minutes but did not have any attacking impact as Girona continued to dominate proceedings.

Girona FC

Girona FC started slow but got into their groove after the first goal

Gorka Iraizoz (5/10) - The experienced Gorka Iraizoz manned the Girona FC goal tonight but had a quiet first half on account of Kerala Blasters not threatening his goal. He was called into action once in the match at the hour mark producing a superb save to deny Courage Pekuson from a freekick.

Eric Montes (7/10) - The right-back for the Spanish side was virtually playing the match in the Kerala half with his menacing runs on the right flank. He scored a 'Maicon-esque' goal after a great overlapping run into the box from the right side to give Girona the lead just before the end of the first half.

Pedro Alcala (6.5/10) - The defender for the Spanish side was very active on the flank with his marauding runs and attempted a lot of crosses into the box for the attackers to latch onto.

Juan Pedro Ramirez (6/10) - 'Juanpe', as he is fondly called was a towering figure in the Girona central defence and was confident with the ball at his feet. He was the target man during setpieces for Girona.

Carles Planas (6/10) - The central defender was strong in his tackling and recovered a lot of balls whenever Kerala tried to attack on the counter.

Alex Granell (7.5/10) - The Girona FC skipper was the mainstay in the midfield for the Spaniards and controlled the flow of the game from the centre of the park. Granell got his name on the scoresheet when he got on the end of a cross from Many into the box and finished strongly.

Pere Pons (6/10) - The youngster was highly active in the central midfield searching for through balls past the Kerala defence. He created a lot of chances and was superb on the ball in front of the Kerala backline.

Ruben Alcaraz (6.5/10) - The defensive midfielder operated alongside Pons and broke up a lot of Kerala counter-attacking moves. He was good with his passing and even tested Naveen Kumar from long range, hitting the woodwork on one occasion.

Yhoan Andzouana Many (8/10) - The winger who impressed everyone with his performance yesterday against Melbourne City FC was a livewire on the flanks and made a lot of in-roads into the Kerala box. Many created the third goal for Girona when his cross was met by captain Alex Granell for a good finish just before the hour mark.

Pedro Porro (8.5/10) - The young attacker was a cause of concern for the Kerala defenders and had a couple of good shots on the goal. He got the assist for the first goal when he put Montes through on goal inside the box and added a goal to his tally from close range after a defensive fumble.

Kevin Olivier Soni (7.5/10) - The striker made life difficult for the Kerala defenders with his quick movement and strong physical presence inside the box. Soni showed great close control with the ball inside the box and create chances for the away side.

Substitutes:

David Timor (4/10) - The midfielder replaced Pere Pons at the start of the second half of the match in the first change for Girona.

Marc Vito (3/10) - The keeper was put on by Girona FC after the hour mark replacing Gorka Iraizoz in the goal but had literally no work to do as he was never called into action.

Aleix Garcia (4.5/10) - The Manchester City-loanee came on in the second half to occupy his place in the midfield and did well to thread in good passes past the Kerala defence. He got his name on the scoresheet when he scored a late penalty goal to make it 5-0 in favour of Girona FC.

Cristian Portugues (3/10) - The striker who scored a brace yesterday against Melbourne City FC got his chance tonight in the second half and had a couple of chances at the goal inside the box.

Aday Benitez (6.5/10) - The winger came on in the second half and had good impact on the attack troubling the Kerala defence with his runs on the flank. He got his goal when his effort deflected off Anas' foot and looped over Naveen Kumar in the Kerala goal.