Five goals, a pulsating second half, questionable calls from the referee, a bit of ill temper floating around – football-wise, the Indian Super League could not have asked for a better fixture to kick off their second season. The fact that it arrived after a rather drab opening ceremony probably made it sweeter.
It looks like having a garish opening ceremony for just about any sporting event held in India has become the norm. Of course, the ISL could not be just a mute spectator and for an hour before the game actually started, those at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, were treated to Alia Bhatt and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shaking a leg or two, with Arjun Kapoor doing his utmost to get some cheers going. Unfortunately, this was Chennai after all and despite Kapoor’s many entreats, the loudest cheers were duly reserved for Rajnikanth and Sachin Tendulkar when the camera fittingly panned to them sitting together.
Hard as nails
Once the game started though, it was a clash between two teams playing in completely contrasting styles. Atletico De Kolkata may be the defending champions, but anyone who watched them last year would probably agree that they are not the most entertaining team to watch. With a unwavering focus on discipline and dourness, Kolkata slugged through four goalless draws last year, but ultimately went on to win the tournament. And by the looks of their performance in this match, it is business as usual this year – press, press, press your opponent and capitalise the moment they make a mistake, which is exactly what happened today.
Chennaiyin FC have more flair and are a far more entertaining team to watch, but it does not seem like they have fixed their defensive frailties from last year. Despite dominating large portions of the match in the first half, a dreadful error from goalkeeper Apoula Edel (who played for Kolkata last year) gave their opponents the opening goal. And though they managed an equaliser from a sharp Elano pass, it was another defensive error, this time from fan favourite Bernard Mendy, which allowed Kolkata their second goal. Things could have turned far worse for them when Mendy, who probably had the worst night of his Chennaiyin career, conceded a penalty after a handball, but thankfully for Chennai, Edel pulled off a fine stop.
Defensive lapses
On the positive side, Chennai kept fighting through the match and without those two schoolboy defensive lapses, could have ideally won the game. Elano picked up from where he left last season, always a threat in midfield, building attacks, he deserved his goal from a penalty at the death. But the big positive for them will be the performance of Fikru Teferra. The temperamental Ethiopian blew hot and cold for Kolkata last season, seemingly always close to blowing his top. This year, he has swapped the Kolkata red for the Chennai blue and it looks like the switch has done him a world of good. Gone were the ugly tackles and the constant remonstrations from last year, to be replaced by a calmer demeanour and some silky inter-play with Elano. If Fikru keeps his cool, the Fikru-Elano combination could do wonders for Chennai this season.
Conversely, there is not much to say about Kolkata. One can complain and say they should have been more attacking, but at the same time, Antonio Habas, the Atletico De Kolkata coach, can quite rightly counter by saying they could have even led 4-1 at one stage of the game. This is their style, this is how they won the ISL last year and there is no reason to change what is not broken. Though there will be concerns about the condition of their icon player Helder Postiga who was stretchered off after his second goal, there will be contentment in the ATK ranks – a 3-2 triumph in a tough opening fixture away against one of the semi-finalists is just the start the defending champions would have wanted.
(Atletico de Kolkata defeated Chennaiyin FC 3-2)
It looks like having a garish opening ceremony for just about any sporting event held in India has become the norm. Of course, the ISL could not be just a mute spectator and for an hour before the game actually started, those at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, were treated to Alia Bhatt and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shaking a leg or two, with Arjun Kapoor doing his utmost to get some cheers going. Unfortunately, this was Chennai after all and despite Kapoor’s many entreats, the loudest cheers were duly reserved for Rajnikanth and Sachin Tendulkar when the camera fittingly panned to them sitting together.
Hard as nails
Once the game started though, it was a clash between two teams playing in completely contrasting styles. Atletico De Kolkata may be the defending champions, but anyone who watched them last year would probably agree that they are not the most entertaining team to watch. With a unwavering focus on discipline and dourness, Kolkata slugged through four goalless draws last year, but ultimately went on to win the tournament. And by the looks of their performance in this match, it is business as usual this year – press, press, press your opponent and capitalise the moment they make a mistake, which is exactly what happened today.
Chennaiyin FC have more flair and are a far more entertaining team to watch, but it does not seem like they have fixed their defensive frailties from last year. Despite dominating large portions of the match in the first half, a dreadful error from goalkeeper Apoula Edel (who played for Kolkata last year) gave their opponents the opening goal. And though they managed an equaliser from a sharp Elano pass, it was another defensive error, this time from fan favourite Bernard Mendy, which allowed Kolkata their second goal. Things could have turned far worse for them when Mendy, who probably had the worst night of his Chennaiyin career, conceded a penalty after a handball, but thankfully for Chennai, Edel pulled off a fine stop.
Defensive lapses
On the positive side, Chennai kept fighting through the match and without those two schoolboy defensive lapses, could have ideally won the game. Elano picked up from where he left last season, always a threat in midfield, building attacks, he deserved his goal from a penalty at the death. But the big positive for them will be the performance of Fikru Teferra. The temperamental Ethiopian blew hot and cold for Kolkata last season, seemingly always close to blowing his top. This year, he has swapped the Kolkata red for the Chennai blue and it looks like the switch has done him a world of good. Gone were the ugly tackles and the constant remonstrations from last year, to be replaced by a calmer demeanour and some silky inter-play with Elano. If Fikru keeps his cool, the Fikru-Elano combination could do wonders for Chennai this season.
Conversely, there is not much to say about Kolkata. One can complain and say they should have been more attacking, but at the same time, Antonio Habas, the Atletico De Kolkata coach, can quite rightly counter by saying they could have even led 4-1 at one stage of the game. This is their style, this is how they won the ISL last year and there is no reason to change what is not broken. Though there will be concerns about the condition of their icon player Helder Postiga who was stretchered off after his second goal, there will be contentment in the ATK ranks – a 3-2 triumph in a tough opening fixture away against one of the semi-finalists is just the start the defending champions would have wanted.
(Atletico de Kolkata defeated Chennaiyin FC 3-2)
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