Chennaiyin FC 2-0 East Bengal: Player ratings for the Red and Gold Brigade as they suffer another defeat | ISL 2022-23

Chennaiyin FC ended their eight-game winless streak as they defeated East Bengal 2-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, February 12.

The match was one-way traffic for the first half hour as the hosts dominated possession and had a couple of opportunities to go ahead. The Red and Gold Brigade were pinned back as they were unable to find any momentum going forward.

However, they settled into the game and began posing problems for Marina Machans on the break. Suhair VP and Jake Jervis had their best chances of the half, but both players scuffed it as the half ended with both sides failing to find the back of the net.

Chennaiyin FC came out of the break with intent and opened the scoring in the 49th minute. East Bengal were caught off-guard from a set-piece situation as Anirudh Thapa’s cross almost found Karikari, but it deflected into the net off the outstretched Lalchungnunga.

The home side stretched their lead towards the end of the game when Edwin Vanspual’s pass found Rahim Ali, who slid the ball into an empty net. East Bengal were certainly lacklustre at the Marina Arena and struggled to impose themselves into the game.

On that note, let’s take a look at how each player of East Bengal fared against Chennaiyin FC.

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Kamaljit Singh [5/10]

Kamaljit had a few nervy moments, especially when he made a poor decision to rush forward and leave his goal open early in the game. However, he was not at fault for both goals.

Sarthak Golui [5/10]

Sarthak made a few crucial interceptions as CFC swung in deliveries from the right flank. However, he failed to provide support to Suhair on the overlap and did not complete any of his crosses.

Lalchungnunga [5/10]

Chungnunga was frequently called into action and kept a close eye on CFC’s runners. But he was caught out of position when Karikari made a move past him and was deemed to have scored an own goal. A decent showing, but he will hope for better performances in the remaining games.

Charalampos Kyriakou [5/10]

Kyriakou seemed to have hurt his foot early in the game, but carried on and made important clearances in the box in the first half. He was regularly caught out by long balls over the top in the second half as East Bengal pushed for an equalizer.

Jerry Lalrinzuala [5/10]

Jerry was beaten easily on a couple of occasions by Vincy Barretto and Ajith Kumar. He was largely pinned back as CFC looked to attack from the right side. He made some runs forward, but did not make any impact offensively.

Mobahsir Rahman [6/10]

Rahman held the fort in midfield and it was clear that East Bengal missed out on his presence against NorthEast United last time out. He was energetic and added a much-needed bite in the middle of the park and made nine recoveries.

Jordan O’Doherty [5.5/10]

O’Doherty’s passing wasn’t adventurous, but he kept the play moving. He was tidy in possession as he made some vital tackles, but gave the ball away once, which could have cost his team. Not the best of days for the Australian.

Suhair VP [5/10]

Suhair had a golden opportunity to help his side take the lead, but his shot from the six-yard box found the side netting. Struggled to create any impact in the final third and created no chances.

Naorem Singh Mahesh [8/10]

Mahesh started the game poorly, but certainly grew into the game. His crosses and linkup play from the left flank were East Bengal's main source of progression and chance creation.

Furthermore, Mahesh created the most chances (5) in the game. Another solid outing for the 23-year-old as he continues to impress despite poor results.

Cleiton Silva [6/10]

Cleiton was surprisingly quiet when East Bengal FC looked to counter-attack, but he made selfless runs to pull the center-backs out of position. Diagne did an excellent job preventing him as he only made three passes into the final third and had no shots on goal.

Jake Jervis [6/10]

Jervis made some excellent runs behind the centre-backs, but missed a couple of opportunities in the first half. He could have had a hat-trick as his movement posed trouble for the CFC. Unfortunately, he failed to convert those chances.

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East Bengal's Substitutes

Sumit Passi [5/10]

Replaced Suhair on the right flank in the 75th minute, but was unable to make his mark as Chennaiyin FC dominated possession.

Mohammad Rakip [6/10]

Rakip had a decent cameo, but arrived too late into the game to make any impact.