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Sunil Chhetri scoring and starring in his team’s win has become the most common occurrence in Indian football. When Chhetri was bought by Mumbai City FC in the auction for Rs. 1.2 crore, it was suggested to be a massive coup for the Ranbir Kapoor-owned side.
Chhetri is known for his exploits in the Indian football circuit for a long time and he was expected to perform very well for his team.
Three games into his stint in the Indian Super League, he already has two Hero of the Match awards to his credit, three goals and has helped his team pick up two wins, helping them move off the bottom of the table. The Indian captain hence, is an easy pick for the Player of the Week.
Mumbai came into a fresh game-week with two back to back home games, and a chance to turn their season around. 3 matches played, two losses and a solitary draw, just one goal scored, Mumbai City FC were struggling.
The Mumbai outfit had just welcomed back their stars Sunill Chhetri and Subrata Pal following national duty. While Pal made a mark between the sticks, Chhetri made a huge impact at the other end of the pitch and has played an instrumental role in the resurgence of Mumbai City FC.
They were first up against in-form Delhi Dynamos FC, who were on a three match winning run, having defeated FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC. Sunil Chhetri took up his familiar No. 10 role, something he has been doing for some time now to get more involved in the game.
With Norde playing on his left, the two combined wonderfully well to run in-between the lines. While Sony Norde stretched play with his fancy footwork and fast runs on the left flank, Chhetri occupied great positions in the middle to impact the game.
Chhetri found his goal scoring touch as he struck a brace against Delhi. The glimpses of great attacking play we saw in their previous game came to fruition against Delhi as Chhetri and Sony Norde were involved in some beautiful interchange.
They started the attack before moving the ball to Norde, who let fly, after pulling out a few tricks. The ricochet fell well for Chhetri, who showed great presence of mind and composure to place his volley in goal to give the hosts a lead. His run into the stands and to the fans gave enough evidence of mutual respect and love.
The two combined on multiple occasions, which paid dividends again when Sony Norde went past his markers in the box to put a low cross goalwards, which the diminutive striker tapped in to complete his brace and stamp his authority on the game.
It was not just goals, Chhetri had a telling impact on the entire game, with him falling back time and again to involve himself more and help his team gain control in the middle of the park. His distribution was good and he was happy to play his colleagues through, helping them keep the match under control.
He continued his form and was pivotal to Mumbai City FC’s plans against table toppers FC Goa as they gave a solid beating to the Zico-managed side. Chhetri continued to play as a No.10 and started making an early impact in the game.
The away team had a better start with the opening chances falling to them, but Mumbai made a strong comeback and started to dominate the game. The Indian captain put the hosts ahead, courtesy of a neatly taken penalty, after Piquionne was adjudged to have been incorrectly brought down in the box. Having slotted home the penalty, Chhetri took his tally of goals to 3 in 3 matches.
Minutes later, Chhetri was at it again, striking the ball brilliantly, only to see Kattimani pull out a brilliant save. The striker continued growing into the game and also created a chance for Piquionne, playing him through, but the Gaurs keeper was equal to the challenge.
The Mumbai City talisman could not add to his tally, but the fans saw what they had been longing for. Anelka came on as a sub and played alongside Chhetri. Though the duo didn’t score, fans would be expecting great things from them in the near future.
Sunil Chhetri, for his match-winning performances, impact on the game and bringing his team back into the team, is unarguably the Player of the Week.
