Chennaiyin FC 4-3 NorthEast United FC: Player ratings for the Highlanders | ISL 2022-23

Chennaiyin FC overcame NorthEast United FC's challenge in a seven-goal thriller at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Friday, February 24.

The Highlanders were caught off guard within three minutes, and the hosts took full advantage of it. Julius Ducker’s lofted pass found Rahim Ali, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

CFC continued to maintain dominance and looked dangerous on the break. Kwame Karikari and Edwin Vansapul came close to scoring, while Jithin’s effort for NorthEast United was parried away by Samik Mitra.

The one-sided first half ended with the hosts leading 1-0. Vincenzo Annese’s side, however, started committing men forward and were rewarded for their efforts when Wilmar Jordan equalized in the 51st minute.

But that lead lasted only five minutes as Karikari scored off a rebound to make it 2-1. The third goal for Chennaiyin FC arrived soon after, as the Highlanders were caught in transition yet again.

The end-to-end game witnessed another goal in the second half, and it was the away side’s turn this time. Parthib Gogoi’s long-range effort swirled past Samik Mitra against the run of play.

The entertaining affair had another twist when Jordan capitalized on CFC’s error to level the scores and stun the home crowd. However, Marina Machans had the last laugh as Sajal Bag broke the Highlanders’ hearts with an injury-time winner to seal all three points.

The two sides certainly appear to enjoy goalmouth action, and on that note, let’s take a look at how NorthEast United fared against Chennaiyin FC.

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NorthEast United player ratings

Arindam [5]

Arindam should have closed the angles for Rahim Ali’s first goal, but he bounced back and made a couple of important saves in the first half. His misery, however, continued in the second half as he gave away the ball, which led to Karikari’s goal.

Joe Zoherliana [5]

Joe was pinned back for large parts of the game and struggled to make an impact going forward. He was also caught out of position for the third goal.

Mashoor Thangalakath [4]

Mashoor was given the nod and had a few iffy moments along the way. He made a huge error in stoppage time by gifting the winner to CFC.

Aaron Evans [5.5]

Evans had a tough battle against Vincy Barretto early in the game and was booked for a cynical foul on him. He failed to lead the backline despite making nine recoveries.

Hira Mondal [5]

He was aggressive and closed down the spaces, but failed. Edwin had the upper hand on him on several occasions. He was also careless with his passing and crossing.

Joseba Beitia [6]

Joseba was anonymous in the first half, apart from a couple of decent diagonal passes. The NorthEast United man spent a lot of time in deeper areas as he was forced to track runners.

Mohammed Irshad [5]

Irshad was poor in possession and rushed into committing challenges. He was eventually replaced around the hour mark.

Gani Nigam [6.5]

Nigam played an excellent defense-splitting pass to Jithin in the first half to create NorthEast United’s first clear-cut chance. He was certainly the pick of NorthEast United’s midfielders.

Jithin MS [6]

Jithin was lively when he received the ball and looked to take on Edwin Vanspaul. But he fizzled out in the second half.

Wilmar Jordan [9]

Wilmar struggled to get into the game as his side failed to create chances. But he only needed one sight of the goal to create problems for his opponents. He held off his marker and powerfully slotted the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1.

The Colombian was in the right place at the right time to score his second and NorthEast United’s third goal of the night. Eight goals this season is certainly an excellent return for Jordan.

Parthib Gogoi [8.5]

Parthib has shown some flashes of his potential in recent weeks, but he did not have much joy in the first half. However, he started drifting into the middle of the park and assisted Wilmar with a superb reverse pass.

Gogoi then scored another stunning goal from 30 yards out. The youngster is certainly turning heads with his performances.

Substitutes

Emil Benny [6]

Benny was tidy in possession and covered plenty of ground. His pressure eventually led to NothEast United’s equalizer.

Tondonba Singh [6]

Tondonba was solid when he came and defended well.

Laldanamwia Ralte [5]

He arrived in the 76th minute and was forced to track back once the Highlanders equalized.