Chennaiyin FC hosted Atletico De Kolkata in a round 21 clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Chennai. The top two teams in the league table battled it out among themselves. While the home team was high on confidence after defeating Mumbai City FC 5-1 in their last game, the Kolkata franchise visited Chennai after a 1-1 stalemate against Kerala Blasters in Kolkata.
Chennaiyin FC dominated the early stages of the first half with better position. Player cum manager Marco Materazzi started in his second consecutive match in the Hero Indian Super League playing in a defensive role in front of the back four. Atletico sustained the early pressures from the home team and started playing possession football. Atletico De Kolkata’s marquee player Luis Garcia came back from injury. His presence added an extra tinge of flair in Kolkata’s attack. In the 32nd minute Mohammad Rafi chased a ball into the Chennaiyin penalty box where he was fouled by goalkeeper Shilton Paul. Shilton was given marching orders and Kolkata was awarded a penalty. Garcia made no mistake from the spot in finding the back of the net.
Atletico De Kolkata was reduced to 10 men in the beginning of second half. Jofre Mateu tried to dribble past Gouramangi Singh inside the penalty box but failed. He fell down inside the box and referee booked him with a yellow card for play-acting. It was his second yellow of the night leading to a red. The speed of the game deteriorated in the second half and both the teams played slow passing football. Materazzi took an offensive strategy in the late second half introducing two Indian strikers, Balwant Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua. In the added times Atletico right-back Kingshuk Debnath fouled John Mendoza inside the penalty box. Elano restored parity from the spot.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw. It was without a doubt a fitting end to the evenly fought match as neither of the teams deserved to lose. Atletico maintain their unbeaten streak and remains at the top of the table, while Chennaiyin maintained their second position in the league table.
