Chennaiyin FC vs SC East Bengal: Who won yesterday's ISL 2021-22 match?

Chennaiyin FC and SC East Bengal played out an engaging 0-0 draw in Match 16 of ISL 2021-22 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium. The Marina Machans had the best chances of the game, but were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal.

Bozidar Bandovic's side began on the front foot, with SC East Bengal forced to clear the ball out for a corner inside the first five minutes. However, the Red and Gold Brigade regained their composure, and soon strung together some good passes down the right wing.

Chennaiyin FC created the first real chance of the game well into the first half, forcing Suvam Sen to make a point-blank save to deny Mirlan Murzaev.

Some excellent work from captain Anirudh Thapa saw the Marina Machans manage to keep the ball in play on the right. Rahim Ali then brushed off an SC East Bengal defender to send a cross in. Murzaev met it at the near post, but Sen managed to react in time, and keep it out.

Lallianzuala Chhangte then forced a second good save from Sen after a quick throw-in from Thapa. Chhangte hit a first-time shot with his left foot from the right side of the box, but it was at a comfortable height for Sen to palm away.

The Chennaiyin FC winger received another chance after Murzaev left SC East Bengal right-back Daniel Gomes on the turf. Murzaev's cross into the box was touched on by Ali, but Chhangte's initial effort was blocked. Ali did well to win the loose ball, but Chhangte could only put the resulting shot wide of Sen's post.

Thapa and Ariel Borysiuk then tried their luck from distance, but scuffed their shots. While the Chennaiyin FC captain forced an easy save from Sen, Borysiuk skewed his attempt well off target.

Sen was called into action again after a fabulous through-ball from Vladimir Koman found Ali racing through. The Marina Machans forward tried to nick the ball past the SC East Bengal goalkeeper, but he made himself big to save the shot.

The Red and Gold Brigade's first chance of the night followed Ali's miss when striker Daniel Chukwu was sent through on goal. But a fabulous recovery tackle by centre-back Slavko Damjanovic prevented him from getting a shot away.

That was the last of the goalmouth action in an entertaining first half of the ISL contest as both sides went into the interval level.

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Chennaiyin FC fail to take their chances as SC East Bengal pick up a valuable point

Chennaiyin FC started the second half well, and even forced some pinball in the SC East Bengal box, but couldn't turn the ball in. That was followed by a deep corner from Koman, which was headed wide by Ali at the far post.

The pressure almost yielded rewards close to the hour mark when Sen mishandled a lofted cross into the box. The ball fell to substitute Lukasz Gikiewicz, but his shot was blocked. Ali received another chance after Sen dropped Thapa's cross right at his feet, but the Chennaiyin FC striker skied his effort from a narrow angle.

SC East Bengal then had their first real chance after moving the ball swiftly on the counter. They eventually found Hira Mondal on the left, who sent a searing cross in that was headed wide by substitute Antonio Perosevic.

Manolo Diaz's side were made to camp in their own half for large swathes of the second period as Chennaiyin FC unleashed attack after attack. However, the Red and Gold Brigade coped well with the ever-increasing pressure to keep the Marina Machans at bay.

Their defensive resilience almost paid off as SC East Bengal received the best chance of the entire game. Amir Derisevic floated in a fabulous free-kick from the left following a foul by Chennaiyin FC centre-back Damjanovic. Substitute Raju Gaikwad escaped his marker, but miscued his jump as the ball bobbed off his head and shoulder before hitting the turf and bouncing over the crossbar.

Chennaiyin FC did create another big chance to win this ISL 2021-22 fixture with around five minutes left on the clock. Chhangte received the ball on the right side of the box after a corner was poorly cleared by SC East Bengal. However, the winger could only sky his left-footed strike wastefully into the stands.

That was the last real chance of the match, which came to a scrappy end with chances for both teams. However, the Red and Gold Brigade held on to take a point off their more fancied opponents.

The result was enough for Chennaiyin FC to go momentarily top of the ISL 2021-22 points table with seven points from their opening three matches. However, Bandovic and his side will view this as two dropped points against a struggling opposition team.