Matej Poplatnik celebrates after the goal (Image Courtesy: ISL)
Matej Poplatnik was the creative hub for Kerala Blaster FC. The striker did not get involved in the game for first few minutes of the game and decided to drop deep and help out the wingers.
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Prasanth Karuthadathkuni and Seminlen Doungel linked up with him exceptionally well to cause some sort of fear to ATK's defence.
Only the linkup play was good between Matej and the wingers. But, the story was the inability of the wingers to cross the ball to find the player inside the penalty box.
The forwards looked isolated inside the box when he was there to contribute towards the final third of the game.
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During the first half, Matej Poplatnik generated enormous power to head the ball which was well saved by Arindam Bhattacharya.
He did plenty of running without the ball to help out his teammates. However, his hard work got paid off when his header ricochets off Gerson which found the back of the net to equalize the scoreline.
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About the author
Sudarshan
Sudarshan has been covering European and Indian football for Sportskeeda for
around 9 years. An Information Technology graduate and a post-graduate in International Business Operations, he has previously worked with Chennai Super Kings, Chennai City FC and the SunRisers Hyderabad handling their social media for OPN Advertising and Ting Labs. He has also travelled with the SunRisers for around 2 years, shooting content and interviewing stars such as David Warner, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jonny Bairstow.
An ardent Liverpool supporter since 2008, Sudarshan's favorite footballer is Steven Gerrard, who impressed with his unmatched leadership during the Reds' challenging periods. His favorite manager is Jurgen Klopp as the German's connection with fans and preference for high-intensity football resonates with him. Sudarshan aims to better analyze football matches by relying on websites like FotMob and DataMB and excels in swiftly covering breaking news events.
Mario Gotze's winner in the 2014 final is Sudarshan’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment, and believes that Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham could emerge as the successors to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. When not writing, he enjoys binge-watching movies, learning new skills to enhance his professional development, and participating in marathons.