ISL 2015: Mumbai City FC 0-2 Chennaiyin FC - 5 Talking Points

After two losses to start off their campaign, Chennaiyin FC got themselves further back on track with a routine 2-0 victory over Mumbai City FC at the DY Patil Stadium. Chennaiyin came into the game on the high of their 4-0 win in Goa, and the hero of that night was once again the star.Colombian John Stiven Mendoza bagged a brace for Marco Materazzi’s side to heap further misery on Nicolas Anelka and Mumbai, who have just a solitary point from three games so far. Here are the main talking points from the match.

#1 Changes galore for Mumbai City

Sunil Chhetri started for Mumbai City (Image courtesy of ISL)

Nicolas Anelka had the luxury of having the players who played for the Indian national team available again, and he did not waste any time in putting all three of Sunil Chhetri, Subrata Paul and Lalchhuanmawia Fanai straight into the starting XI. Also coming in were Ashutosh Mehta, Tunisian Salim Benachour and French striker Frederic Piquionne.

The changes seemed to galvanize Mumbai as they certainly had the better of the opening exchanges. Haitian winger Sony Norde, in particular, was very lively and caused plenty of problems for the Chennaiyin defence.

But as had been the case in their first two games, Mumbai once again failed to put away their chances when they got into decent goalscoring positions. And once again, they were made to pay for it.

#2 Tackles flying in

Pavel Cmovs of Mumbai City FC tackles John Stiven Mendoza of Chennaiyin FC (Image courtesy of ISL)

Throughout the game, both teams were very feisty in the midfield area. A mere 30 seconds after kickoff, Thoi Singh flew in on Fanai and the Chennaiyin player was booked. That was a sign of things to come as there were plenty of tackles going in all around the field.

Three battles were of particular interest; Norde was teasing Chennaiyin right back Mehrajuddin Wadoo, but the experienced Indian stuck to his guns and made several clean challenges on the Haitian – the most crucial being a block of a shot that seemed bound for Edel’s goal.

Chennaiyin centre-half Mailson Alves seemed to be the one given the role of neutralizing the threat of Piquionne and the Brazilian edged this battle after winning most aerial duels. He ensured that the big Frenchman was largely a peripheral figure in the game.

Mumbai’s Frantz Bertin and Pavel Cmovs had the unenviable task of having to stop Chennaiyin’s red hot attacking line-up of Mendoza, Elano and Jayesh Rane. Although they did their best to keep them silent, the Mumbai City duo will be left rueing individual errors that led to the Chennaiyin goals.

#3 Mendoza flourishes in front of goal

Chennaiyin FC players celebrate Stiven Mendoza’s (R) goal (Image courtesy of ISL)

Right from the outset, it was clear that the combination of John Stiven Mendoza and Elano would be the one that would cause Mumbai the most trouble. Anelka seemingly had a plan in place and his centre-backs Bertin and Cmovs were executing it rather well.

But as we have found out with the Colombian, he only needs a sniff to create a worthwhile opportunity at goal, and so it was. In the first half, he created space for himself after good work from Thoi Singh and a powerful left-footed shot was pushed away by Subrata. A few minutes later, Elano put the Colombian through, but Bertin did just enough to distract Mendoza.

Having gone into half-time goalless, it was important that Mumbai didn’t give too many more opportunities to Mendoza. Instead, a weak square pass from Pratesh Shirodkar was intercepted by Elano and, having drawn Subrata towards him, the Brazilian squared it to Mendoza for the easiest of finishes.

Mendoza’s second goal was the fruit of him being alert and hopeful. A superb curling effort from Jayesh had hit the crossbar and the rebound was attacked unopposed by Mendoza, as he calmly headed in for his fifth goal of the tournament.

Top goal scorers in the #HeroISL this season S. Mendoza* (5) H. Postiga (2) I. Arata (2) M. Dessai (2) Elano (2) #MUMvCHE #LetsFootball

— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) October 16, 2015

#4 Elano was rather subdued

Ashutosh Mehta of Mumbai City FC vies for the ball with Elano Blumer of Chennaiyin FC (Image courtesy of ISL)

One of Chennaiyin’s biggest positives from their 4-0 win at Goa would have been the performance of Elano who has sprung back to life after two rather insipid performances. In this game, the mercurial Brazilian once again found himself a peripheral figure and just couldn’t find his passing range as often as we have been used to seeing him do so in Chennaiyin colours.

As with players of his class, there were a few moments that stood out from Elano, especially his assist for the first goal. But at the end of the game, the feeling was that there is so much more left in the Brazilian’s locker.

Particularly disappointing were Elano’s set-pieces. There were a few ambitious shots from way out that didn’t come close to testing Subrata. Even the crosses that he put in from dead ball situations were disappointing.

Chennaiyin will have tougher outings than this and they will need their Brazilian stalwart firing if they are to go higher up the table.

#5 Chennaiyin see it out professionally

Mailson Alves of Chennaiyin FC put in a defensive master class against Mumbai City FC (Image courtesy of ISL)

Even though Chennaiyin scored 4 goals in Goa, Marco Materazzi said he was most pleased by the clean sheet that they got. The Italian would most certainly echo similar sentiments after this game as Chennaiyin ensured that Mumbai City didn’t cause any late drama.

There was an organization about Chennaiyin’s defensive work that they have rarely displayed. They were marshaled brilliantly by the outstanding Mailson Alves, who was ably supported by Alessandro Potenza, Sena Ralte and Mehrajuddin Wadoo.

Chennaiyin’s organization was epitomized by the fact that they managed to catch Mumbai’s attackers offside on six occasions, with Sony Norde being the culprit most often for Mumbai. Materazzi has always believed that a good side builds from a solid defence, and Chennaiyin will be hoping that these last two games will be the norm rather than the exception.