Chennaiyin FC 3-1 Kerala Blasters: 3 reasons why Owen Coyle's side emerged victorious in the match | ISL 2019-20

Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters renewed their rivalry in the Indian Super League with an enthralling 3-1 scoreline in favour of the hosts at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

Owen Coyle's side stormed into the lead in the 4th minute as Rafael Crivellaro exposed the Blasters defense to set up Andre Schembri on goal. Kerala Blasters tried taking control of the game in the minutes that followed and were fairly rewarded with a goal in the 15th minute. Bartholomew Ogbeche and Mario Arques combined well from a set-piece for the former to slot a shot from outside the box. However, the goal was the end of the story for the visitors as Chennaiyin dominated the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.

The 25th minute saw a controversial goal being allowed to CFC, only to rectified by the referee after a few minutes. The hosts duly replied with a goal through Lallianzuala Chhangte at the half-hour mark. Blasters gifted the third goal with a lack of understanding between the keeper and defenders. Chhangte lobbed the ball towards goal seeing TP Rehenesh out of his line and Nerijus Valskis rushed towards the end to redirect it goalwards.

Blasters had very little activity at the offensive end for a major part of the game. Bartholomew Ogbeche's injury at the end of the first half only added to Eelco Schattorie's woes. As the scoreline continued the same in the second half, Chennaiyin FC bagged their second win of the season. Here are three reasons that led to this result.

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#3 Blasters schoolboy errors in defense

Kerala Blasters vs Chennaiyin FC (Image: ISL)

Kerala Blasters have had a season to forget at the back this season. While the previous outings showed glimpses of rejuvenation in defense, this game shattered all such hopes. The back-line can be blamed for all the three goals the side conceded.

The first goal came after Crivellaro beat Jeakson Singh with ease and left all the defenders as spectators. Both the centre-backs were out of position to intercept the cross that followed. Lack of communication between the goalkeeper and defenders paved the way for the third goal. No yellow shirt was in place to clear the ball after it hit the bars from Chhangte's lob.

The backline with Vlatkor Drobarov and Raju Gaikwad at the heart of the defense and Jessel Carneiro and Mohammed Rakip on the flanks, disappointed with poor understanding and coordination. The players could not clear the ball on time and often kept it in their own half, failing to build from the back.

#2 Chennaiyin's impressive attacking shift

Kerala Blasters vs Chennaiyin FC (Image: ISL)

While the Blasters' defense was at many times culpable, Chennaiyin FC took advantage of it to sneak past the defenders. From the very first minute, Owen Coyle's side kept pressing the visitors which eventually led to numerous errors from Kerala.

Lallianzuala Chhangte was a livewire on the left flank and gave Mohammed Rakip a hard day at office. Andre Schembri, Nerijus Valskis and Rafael Crivellaro were all equal contributors on the pitch for the Marina Machans. The attackers displayed excellent understanding to switch positions and cover each other. On more than one occasion did Chennai restart set-pieces quickly to reach close to the goal.

In general, for a side that had to wait for five games to score a goal, the offensive performance against Kerala Blasters was their best and would give hopes to Coyle. With three different goalscorers and Chhangte breaking the duck, the gaffer will be optimistic about the path ahead.

#1 Blasters failure to make most of their possession

Kerala Blasters vs Chennaiyin FC (Image: ISL)

The first half and in a sense the whole game was one-sided in terms of goals. Though Chennaiyin FC had three goals against Kerala Blasters' one, all other stats were in favour of the losers. Kerala finished the game with 63% possession in reply to Chennaiyin's 37%. While Eelco Schattorie's side attempted 566 passes, the opposition did not reach even half of it, with only 232.

However, after breaking down the stats, it is observed that most of the ball possession Kerala enjoyed was in their own half. Out of the total passes, a majority was played between the defenders or towards their own goal. The team lacked creativity going forward and rarely did we see useful defense-splitting passes.

Even after keeping possession at the back, the players resorted to long-balls frequently, leading to no end product. Mario Arques and Jeakson Singh had no space to exploit and were forced to pass the ball back to the defense line.

It was undoubtedly a match that the Blasters could give a tough fight given the time they had the ball. Chennai's tight defense and Kerala's below-par finishing ensured a home-side victory.