#4 A cagey midfield affair in the first half
Both Eelco Schattorie and Josep Gombau deployed their Northeast United and Delhi Dynamos men respectively in a 4-5-1 formation.
And, rather than making use of the wings and whipping in crosses, both the sides decided to exploit the center. As a result, none of the sides had a leverage in the midfield and they constantly dispossessed each other.
For NorthEast United FC, only Rowllin Borges and Lalthathanga Khawlhring kept a passing accuracy of more than 60% in the first half. Redeem Tlang was taken off in the 33rd minute so that Jose Leudo can play in the center of the park rather than in the back four.
For Delhi Dynamos FC, Marcos Tebar and Ulises Davila were the only two midfielders who succeeded in maintaining a passing accuracy of more than 60% in the specified time period.
However, both the sets of midfielders gave a good account of themselves defensively. Northeast United FC midfielders made 10 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 3 blocks with Federico Gallego alone contributing 5 out of the 10 successful tackles. On the other hand, Delhi Dynamos midfielders made 4 tackles and 8 interceptions.