ISL: Chennaiyin FC 3-1 FC Pune City - 5 talking points

When both Chennaiyin FC and FC Pune City walked out to play in match number 36 of the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, the twelfth man advantage that home team fans provided was heavily in favour of the home team. And with their impeccable passing, wave after wave of attacks and solid defending, Chennaiyin cashed in on the support.Questions will be asked about Franco Colomba's team, who finally paid the price for their shoddy passing, something which they were able to escape with in their previous encounters. In a game that was heavily dominated by Chennaiyin FC, Pune’s passing failed them completely and that came back to haunt them heavily.We take a look at the five talking points of the game:

#1 Chennaiyin FC get their tactics right

In the previous encounter between the two teams at the home stadium of FC Pune City, Chennaiyin FC kept up the pressure and tried hard but couldn't salvage anything beyond a draw. Despite attacking in waves, they couldn't find the elusive winning goal.

That was not the case to be today as they went on the offensive from the opening minutes of the game. And this was after they lost both Elano and Gouramangi (in the first half) and Mendoza (in the second half) to injuries. From Jeje and Mendoza's tireless runs, to the deep defending by Djemba Djemba and Mendy, they got their tactics right both in midfield and up front. The result – they managed to knock Kolkata off the top for the first time in the ISL this season.

#2 Stiven Mendoza shines up-front

Stiven Mendoza just proved what a valuable asset he is to the Chennaiyin team as he tirelessly outran the Pune defence to try and drive a goal into the back of Arindam's net. The Hero of the Match from the previous encounter between the two teams linked up very well and scored with deathly accuracy, before being lifted off the ground on a stretcher owing to a hamstring injury.

Needless to say he was the Hero of the Match for this game too. Coach Franco Colomba had admired his ability to run with blistering speed in the post match conference after their previous encounter. With no plan in place to tackle his threat, he was instrumental in running riot through Pune's defence today.

#3 FC Pune City\'s passing

Their inaccuracy while passing was going to get them into hot waters and that is what happened. According to the statistics of FC Pune City on the ISL home page, the team in its nine matches has only 248 good passes and a whopping 895 bad ones. It is unfortunate that a team as talented as theirs has gotten their passing wrong time and again.

And without the charismatic John Goossens to assist Dudu and Kostas up front, there was little else for them to bank upon today. It eventually took its toll today as Chennaiyin read right through their strategies. There were innumerable passes, that were either missed, or given away which Chennaiyin FC exploited to the hilt.

In fact the third goal which Jeje scored, was the result of a passing error outside the Pune box which saw them lose their fourth position to Mumbai (in the ISL standings) on goal difference.

#4 Israil Gurung\'s errors prove to be costly

In the initial games of ISL, Israil Gurung's attacks up the flanks and the ability to play both on the right and left had left everyone talking about his ability to cross the ball in effortlessly. But over the last few games for some reason it has strangely dropped.

At the post match conference after the home game against NorthEast United FC in Pune, he had spoken about concentrating on his ability to finish his darting runs. While that was not visible today, even his ability to just pass the ball either to Dudu, or to Kostas was lacking. In fact there was a time when he was just not able to even step up to passes that were given to him, which proved costly for the team on the whole. For the team to bounce back into the top four, he will have to get his act together and start firing on all cylinders.

#5 Chennaiyin go to the top

Both FC Pune City and Chennaiyin FC had innumerable chances in their previous three encounters to go to the top of the table. While Pune ended up squandering those, Chennaiyin got their act right today and have rightfully gone up to the top.

On the other hand they now have two injuries to deal with. Both Elano and Mendoza were taken off the field due to injuries. It will be a cause of concern for them as both the players have been amongst the highest goal scorers. But with the team playing attacking football as they were today, that concern might not be as grave as it looked like.