Victory over home side keeps Chennai three points ahead of second-placed Atletico de Madrid
Dhanachandra Singh celebrates after scoring second goal for Chennaiyin FC (Photo: ISL)
Mumbai: Chennaiyin FC strengthened their position at the top of Indian Super League table after outclassing Mumbai City FC 3-0 at D.Y. Patil stadium here on Sunday. They are now on 19 points in 10 games and are three points clear of second-placed Atletico de Madrid. This was first defeat for the hosts since they suffered a 5-1 thrashing in Chennai at the hands of the same opponents.
The hosts had managed five clean sheets so far but once Bruno Pelissari broke the deadlock in the 71st minute the defense was in shambles. It was the same old story against Atletico de Kolkata and NorthEast United FC and now, two humiliating defeats to Chennaiyin FC have ripped apart their defense once they concede a goal. Dhanachandra Singha and substitute Cristian Hidalgo Gonzalez made the most of the shaken up defense to slot two more late goals and keep Mumbai City FC lurking at the sixth spot. The visitors, missing three star players, showed their bench strength and class.
Nicolas Anelka, who is nursing a groin injury, wasn’t rushed against a depleted Chennaiyin FC side and the out-of-touch Subash Singh was benched as the hosts bolstered their midfield by including Portugal’s Tiago Ribeiro and skipper Syed Rahim Nabi.
Chennayin FC missed the awesome trio of Elano Blumer, John Mendoza and Gouramangi Moirangthem who suffered injuries in their last match against FC Pune City. This allowed young Indian strikers Balwant Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua to start. With both the sides missing quality strikers the play was concentrated more in the mid-field.
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