ATK 1-3 Chennaiyin FC - 3 Reasons why the Marina Machans took home three points

Chennaiyin FC came up with a superb all-round display to seal a 3-1 victory against hosts ATK at the Salt Lake Stadium to provide more twists and turns to the Indian Super League group phase. A couple of goals from the duo of Rafael Crivellaro and Andre Schembri in the first half put Chennaiyin FC in the driver's set after which they saw out the game in a professional manner.

It was ATK who started on the brighter note as they looked to press high without the ball and play passing football when the ball was with them. However, Chennaiyin FC went ahead against the run of play when Rafael Crivellaro came up with a fantastic solo goal in the 7th minute. They doubled the lead later in the first half when Andre Schembri took advantage off Arindam Bhattacharya's poor attempt to catch the ball off a corner-kick.

Seconds later, ATK cut the deficit down with Chennaiyin's defense going to sleep but they didn't have enough in the tank to complete a comeback. Like they were in the first half, Chennaiyin gave limited scoring opportunities for ATK in the second half too with the exception of Victor Mongil's unbelievable open-goal miss in the 89th minute.

To add the cherry on the cake, Nerijus Valskis helped Chennaiyin FC go 3-1 with literally the last kick of the game as ATK's players went forward in a bid to equalise. This impressive victory puts Chennaiyin just one point behind Mumbai City FC who occupy the fourth spot currently.

With Chennaiyin also having a game in hand, they hold the advantage while ATK slipped up on their own in trying to qualify for the AFC Champions League. If table-toppers FC Goa manage to get a point against Jamshedpur FC in the final game, ATK would have to be content with a second-placed finish.

#3 Chennaiyin give ATK a dose of their own medicine

Brazilian Rafael Crivellaro continued to weave his magic in the ISL with a solid performance against ATK

From the beginning of the season, it has been ATK who have been known as a superb counter-attacking side mainly due to the pace of their lethal striker Roy Krishna. However, on Sunday, it was the visitors Chennaiyin FC who scored a fantastic goal against the run of play courtesy their elegant mid-fielder Rafael Crivellaro.

After receiving a pass from Eli Sabia which came via Roy Krishna's mistake, Crivellaro carried the ball right from the half-way line to the 18-yard box before slotting it right into the bottom left-corner. Even though the ATK defenders need to be criticized for not closing down the space or putting in a challenge, Crivellaro's superb feet did the trick to leave Arindam Bhattacharya stranded on the goal-line.

Also, Chennaiyin FC defended stoutly with the exception of ATK's goal in the dying minutes of the first half. On most occasions, Lucian Goian stayed on his feet to help Eli Sabia while the full-backs Laldinliana Renthlei and Jerry Lalrinzuala also came up with impressive shifts. Defensive compactness had been ATK's strength until now but it was surprisingly Chennaiyin FC who were neat and strong at back.

#2 ATK stumble due to an unstable defense

The home side's error-prone defense and goal-keeping came back to haunt them dearly

As mentioned above, ATK have been one of the best defensive sides in the competition and it is also reflected in the fact that they have had the second-best clean-sheet record this season. Yet, ATK were unstable and lacked communication at the back against Chennaiyin FC

After defending poorly for Chennaiyin's first goal, the second goal also came off an error as Arindam Bhattacharya failed to collect a routine corner-kick. This mistake was capitalised on by the Maltese Andre Schembri as he headed the ball into an empty net. Before this goal, Arindam was remonstrating with his defenders continuously for not marking the Chennaiyin forwards. The goal-keeper was particularly vocal after ATK survived a Chennaiyin FC goal that was legitimately deemed to be off-side.

Even in the second-half, there were a number of mistakes due to which Chennaiyin should have actually been one or two more goals up. It was only due to Lallianzuala Chhangte's inefficiency in front of goal that Chennaiyin couldn't wrap up the game early on.

ATK's frailties at the back were perhaps as a result of coach Antonio Lopez Habas' unneccessary tweaks to the starting line-up. After the two-time champions had put in a clinical display against Odisha FC, Lopez Habas perhaps didn't need to make any change. Unfortunately, due to his misfortune, the man who come into the team, Anas Edathodika had to be replaced early on due to a knee injury and this disturbed the defensive combination.

#1 Chennaiyin play as a team to bag three points

N erijus Valskis capped off an impressive Chennaiyin FC performance with his 13th goal of the season

Under ex-manager John Gregory, Chennaiyin FC looked like a disjointed unit and continued to spurn opportunities even when it was presented on a golden plate. However, the team has been a transformed unit under Owen Coyle in terms of both offense and defense.

On Sunday, Chennaiyin FC put in a clinical display to take all the three points and take another step towards semi-final qualification. At the heart of this performance was the trio of Rafael Crivellaro, Nerijus Valskis and Edwin Sydney Vanspaul.

As has been the case in the last few games, Crivellaro looked a class apart when compared to the other players on the field as he weaved his magic to produce one goal on a night which saw ATK finding it hard to mark the left-footed mid-fielder. Overall, Crivellaro had 47 touches while showcasing a brilliant 85.5 % passing accuracy at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Meanwhile, Nerijus Valskis revealed a different aspect to his game to work his socks off and produce nice one-touch passes to keep the game flowing. Even as ATK limited his danger, Valskis found his name on the scoresheet in the last minute of stoppage time with an easy chip from 35-40 yards out as Arindam Bhattacharya ran out to make a clearance.

While these two star performers will definitely be highlighted, midfielder Edwin Vanspaul continued to grow in stature with another clinical shift. After starting the season as a right-back, Edwin has slotted in as a central midfielder seamlessly. Against an ATK side that tends to be physical, playing Edwin and Anirudh Thapa might have been seen as a risky move but the former Chennai City FC player made 5 interceptions, 2 clearances and 1 tackle to keep Roy Krishna and Co. at bay. Edwin also came very close to scoring in the first half but Arindam Bhattacharya came up with a fantastic save.